Orientations of Cells on Compliant Substrates under Biaxial Stretches: A Theoretical Study |
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Authors: | Guang-Kui Xu Xi-Qiao Feng Huajian Gao |
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Institution: | 1. International Center for Applied Mechanics, State Key Laboratory for Strength and Vibration of Mechanical Structures, Xi''an Jiaotong University, Xi''an, China;2. Institute of Biomechanics and Medical Engineering, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China;3. School of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island |
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Abstract: | Mechanical cues from the microenvironments play a regulating role in many physiological and pathological processes, such as stem cell differentiation and cancer cell metastasis. Experiments showed that cells adhered on a compliant substrate may change orientation with an externally applied strain in the substrate. By accounting for actin polymerization, actin retrograde flow, and integrin binding dynamics, here we develop a mechanism-based tensegrity model to study the orientations of polarized cells on a compliant substrate under biaxial stretches. We show that the cell can actively regulate its mechanical state by generating different traction force levels along its polarized direction. Under static or ultralow-frequency cyclic stretches, stretching a softer substrate leads to a higher increase in the traction force and induces a narrower distribution of cell alignment. Compared to static loadings, high-frequency cyclic loadings have a more significant influence on cell reorientation on a stiff substrate. In addition, the width of the cellular angular distribution scales inversely with the stretch amplitude under both static and cyclic stretches. Our results are in agreement with a wide range of experimental observations, and provide fundamental insights into the functioning of cellular mechanosensing systems. |
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Keywords: | Corresponding author |
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