Mechanotaxis

Mechanotaxis refers to the directed movement of cell motility via mechanical cues (e.g., fluidic shear stress, substrate stiffness gradients, etc.).[1][2][3] In response to fluidic shear stress, for example, cells have been shown to migrate in the direction of the fluid flow.[1][4] Mechanotaxis is critical in many normal biological processes in animals, such as gastrulation,[5] inflammation,[6] and repair in response to a wound,[7] as well as in mechanisms of diseases such as tumor metastasis.[7]

A subset of mechanotaxis - termed durotaxis - refers specifically to cell migration guided by gradients in substrate rigidity (i.e. stiffness).[2][8] The observation that certain cell types seeded on a substrate rigidity gradient migrate up the gradient (i.e. in the direction of increasing substrate stiffness) was first reported by Lo et al.[9] The primary method for creating rigidity gradients for cells (e.g., in biomaterials) consists of altering the degree of cross-linking in polymers to adjust substrate stiffness.[10][11] Alternative substrate rigidity gradients include micropost array gradients, where the stiffness of individual microposts is increased in a single, designed direction.[8]

  1. ^ a b Li, S. (March 19, 2002). "The role of the dynamics of focal adhesion kinase in the mechanotaxis of endothelial cells". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 99 (6): 3546–3551. Bibcode:2002PNAS...99.3546L. doi:10.1073/pnas.052018099. PMC 122560. PMID 11891289.
  2. ^ a b LO, C (1 July 2000). "Cell Movement Is Guided by the Rigidity of the Substrate". Biophysical Journal. 79 (1): 144–152. Bibcode:2000BpJ....79..144L. doi:10.1016/S0006-3495(00)76279-5. PMC 1300921. PMID 10866943.
  3. ^ Mak, M.; Spill, F.; Kamm, R. D.; Zaman, M. H. (2015). "Single-Cell Migration in Complex Microenvironments: Mechanics and Signaling Dynamics". Journal of Biomechanical Engineering. 138 (2): 0210041–0210048. doi:10.1115/1.4032188. PMC 4844084. PMID 26639083.
  4. ^ Hsu, Steve; Thakar, Rahul; Liepmann, Dorian; Li, Song (11 November 2005). "Effects of shear stress on endothelial cell haptotaxis on micropatterned surfaces". Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. 337 (1): 401–409. doi:10.1016/j.bbrc.2005.08.272. PMID 16188239.
  5. ^ Juliano, R L; Haskill, S (1993-02-01). "Signal transduction from the extracellular matrix". Journal of Cell Biology. 120 (3): 577–585. doi:10.1083/jcb.120.3.577. ISSN 0021-9525. PMC 2119550. PMID 8381117.
  6. ^ Huse, Morgan (2017). "Mechanical forces in the immune system". Nature Reviews Immunology. 17 (11): 679–690. doi:10.1038/nri.2017.74. ISSN 1474-1733. PMC 6312705. PMID 28757604.
  7. ^ a b Jiang, Jianxin; Li, Li; He, Yong; Zhao, Min (2013). "Collective cell migration: Implications for wound healing and cancer invasion". Burns & Trauma. 1 (1): 21–26. doi:10.4103/2321-3868.113331. ISSN 2321-3868. PMC 4994501. PMID 27574618.
  8. ^ a b Sochol, Ryan D.; Higa, Adrienne T.; Janairo, Randall R. R.; Li, Song; Lin, Liwei (1 January 2011). "Unidirectional mechanical cellular stimuli via micropost array gradients". Soft Matter. 7 (10): 4606. Bibcode:2011SMat....7.4606S. doi:10.1039/C1SM05163F.
  9. ^ Lo, C (1 July 2000). "Cell Movement Is Guided by the Rigidity of the Substrate". Biophysical Journal. 79 (1): 144–152. Bibcode:2000BpJ....79..144L. doi:10.1016/S0006-3495(00)76279-5. PMC 1300921. PMID 10866943.
  10. ^ Gray, Darren S.; Tien, Joe; Chen, Christopher S. (1 September 2003). "Repositioning of cells by mechanotaxis on surfaces with micropatterned Young's modulus". Journal of Biomedical Materials Research. 66A (3): 605–614. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.646.1614. doi:10.1002/jbm.a.10585. PMID 12918044.
  11. ^ Wong, Joyce Y.; Velasco, Alan; Rajagopalan, Padmavathy; Pham, Quynh (1 March 2003). "Directed Movement of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells on Gradient-Compliant Hydrogels". Langmuir. 19 (5): 1908–1913. doi:10.1021/la026403p.