Morphology and Motility of Cells on Soft Substrates
ORAL
Abstract
Cells are greatly influenced by the mechanical properties of their environment. To study the cellular response to traction-induced substrate deformations, we extend a cellular Potts model of actively polarizing cells with a coarse description of the viscoelastic substrate. Apart from the influence of substrate stiffness, we demonstrate the importance of dissipative effects in the form of viscous friction.
For low viscous friction, i.e. a small lag between cellular traction stresses and the resulting strain, a soft substrate leads to the reduction of the cell speed and persistence time of directed migration. Furthermore, we observe a profound elongation at the lower end of substrate stiffnesses both in our simulations and for HUVECs on PA gels functionalized with collagen.
In contrast, cells on substrates with a high viscous friction are only slightly affected by the resulting deformations, because they can travel faster than the substrate strain. Here, a softer substrate causes a marginal increase in cell speed.
For low viscous friction, i.e. a small lag between cellular traction stresses and the resulting strain, a soft substrate leads to the reduction of the cell speed and persistence time of directed migration. Furthermore, we observe a profound elongation at the lower end of substrate stiffnesses both in our simulations and for HUVECs on PA gels functionalized with collagen.
In contrast, cells on substrates with a high viscous friction are only slightly affected by the resulting deformations, because they can travel faster than the substrate strain. Here, a softer substrate causes a marginal increase in cell speed.
*This research was supported by the German Excellence Initiative via `NanoSystems Initiative Munich' and by the DFG via SFB 1032 (Project B02 and B12). AG and DBB are supported by a DFG fellowship through QBM. JPS and AH acknowledge support from the Max Planck Society.
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Presenters
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Andriy Goychuk
- Arnold Sommerfeld Center for Theoretical Physics (ASC) and Center for NanoScience (CeNS), Department of Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich