Speaker
Description
Experimental investigation consistently reveals that mechanical signals direct and coordinate cell behaviours across tissue types, with cell adhesion and contractility playing key roles. In individual cells, it is observed that focal adhesions and cytoskeletal contractility are both mechanosensitive, changing in response to environmental stiffness. Within tissues, however, adhesion and contractility adaption to the microenvironment is made more complex by the introduction of cell-cell attachments introducing confounding forces at cell junctions. Here, we use a continuum theoretical model for cell contractility coupled actively to the microenvironment to enable a whole systems approach. In collaboration with Dr N. Tapon, Francis Crick Institute and Dr J.R. Davis, Manchester University we apply the framework to tissue layers, micropatterned to control adhesion. We show that the model correctly predicts mechanical contractility in the layer and indeed identifies specific regions of peak mechanical activity. Furthermore, we show that increasing gel stiffness promotes more uniform contractility activity in the cells within adhered layers.
Bibliography
J.R.Davis, J.Solowiej-Wedderburn, S.L.Vega, J.A.Burdick, C.Dunlop, N.Tapon. bioRxiv, 2024.04.10.588783
