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The Mechanical Environment of Cells in Collagen Gel Models

Global and Local Effects in Three-dimensional Biological Hydrogels

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Cellular and Biomolecular Mechanics and Mechanobiology

Part of the book series: Studies in Mechanobiology, Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials ((SMTEB,volume 4))

Abstract

It is becoming increasingly clear that cells behave differently in two-dimensional (2D) culture than in three-dimensional (3D) tissues, and that 3D culture models and new tools for probing them are needed for advancing our knowledge of mechanobiology. Cells physically interact with their surrounding extracellular matrix; they are able to sense the local stiffness, tension, and deformation within the matrix and, in turn, are able to remodel the matrix and generate forces with long-range effects. In tissues with sufficiently high cell density, the cells interact and generate coordinated forces which can be regulated by controlling the macroscopic mechanical boundary conditions. Understanding this dynamic reciprocity between the cells, matrix, and external environment is critical for determining how the cells sense, transduce, and respond to their mechanical surroundings. However, even in simplified models of 3D tissues, quantification of local (non-linear viscoelastic) mechanical properties is problematic, and the transfer of strain and stress to the cells is complicated by non-affine, non-uniform deformation of the cell/matrix composite. This review focuses on methods for characterizing and modulating the mechanical environment of cells cultured within reconstituted collagen gels, the most extensively utilized in vitro models of native 3D tissue.

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Drs. Sherry Voytik-Harbin, Frederick Grinnell and Christophe Helary for the generous confocal, fluorescent, and electron micrographs. I also extend my thanks to Heather Cirka for her help with drawing schematics and configuring the table. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the Fulbright Commission in Ireland and the NIH (1 R15 HL087257) for their financial support of this work.

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  1. Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, 01602, USA

    Kristen L. Billiar

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  1. Fac. Engineering, Dept. Biomedical Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, 69978, Israel

    Amit Gefen

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Billiar, K.L. (2010). The Mechanical Environment of Cells in Collagen Gel Models. In: Gefen, A. (eds) Cellular and Biomolecular Mechanics and Mechanobiology. Studies in Mechanobiology, Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials, vol 4. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/8415_2010_30

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