ArticlePloS one2012
Macromolecular crowding directs extracellular matrix organization and mesenchymal stem cell behavior.
Article in PloS one, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 68 papers.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
68 citing papers in PubMed.
- Understanding Osmolality as a Critical Process Parameter in Mammalian Muscle Cell Culture and Biomanufacturing.ACS omega · 2026Review
- Stable Protein-Based G-Quadruplex-Derived Supramolecular Bioinks as Tunable ECM-Mimetic Constructs Assembled by Combining Non-Covalent and Covalent Strategies.Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) · 2026Article
- High-yield cell-derived extracellular matrix bioink via macromolecular crowding for versatile 3D bioprinting.Materials today. Bio · 2026Article
- Anion-Specific Mechanisms in Fibrinogen Self-Assembly: Contrasting Effects of Phosphates and Chlorides in Nanofiber Formation.Macromolecular bioscience · 2026Article
- Cell flocculation and phase-separation support macro-scale tissue slab construction in a scaffold-free manner.Materials today. Bio · 2026Article
- Development and characterization of red seabream (Pagrus major) muscle satellite cell lines for cultivated seafood: highlighting serum reduction and microcarrier expansion.In vitro cellular & developmental biology. Animal · 2026Article
- Comparative analysis of different macromolecular crowding agents in human tenocyte cultures.Biomaterials and biosystems · 2026Article
- The effect of macromolecular crowders as a supplement to serum free media on human corneal stromal cells proliferation and marker expression.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Synthetic scaffolds functionalized with mesenchymal stem/stromal cells-derived extracellular matrix for bone tissue engineering: a review.RSC advances · 2025Review
- The effect of macromolecular crowders on deposition of extracellular matrix in astrocyte cultures.Cell and tissue research · 2025Article
- Underestimated role of macromolecular crowding in bioengineeredMaterials today. Bio · 2025Article
- Cell-guiding microporous hydrogels by photopolymerization-induced phase separation.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Macromolecular Crowding for Reparative Medicine and Drug Discovery Applications.Sub-cellular biochemistry · 2025Review
- In vitro and in vivo assessment of a non-animal sourced chitosan scaffold loaded with xeno-free umbilical cord mesenchymal stromal cells cultured under macromolecular crowding conditions.Biomaterials and biosystems · 2024Article
- Development of Biomimetic Substrates for Limbal Epithelial Stem Cells Using Collagen-Based Films, Hyaluronic Acid, Immortalized Cells, and Macromolecular Crowding.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- [Advantages and prospects of cell derived decellularized extracellular matrix as tissue engineering scaffolds].Zhongguo xiu fu chong jian wai ke za zhi = Zhongguo xiufu chongjian waike zazhi = Chinese journal of reparative and reconstructive surgery · 2024Review
- Harnessing the Biomimetic Effect of Macromolecular Crowding in the Cell-Derived Model of Clubfoot Fibrosis.Biomacromolecules · 2024Article
- High-viscosity driven modulation of biomechanical properties of human mesenchymal stem cells promotes osteogenic lineage.Materials today. Bio · 2024Article
- Depletion-Induced Self-Assembly of Colloidal Particles on a Solid Substrate.Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids · 2024Article
- Carrageenan maintains the contractile phenotype of vascular smooth muscle cells by increasing macromolecular crowding in vitro.European journal of medical research · 2024Article
8 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Microenvironments of biological cells are dominated in vivo by macromolecular crowding and resultant excluded volume effects. This feature is absent in dilute in vitro cell culture. Here, we induced macromolecular crowding in vitro by using synthetic macromolecular globules of nm-scale radius at physiological levels of fractional volume occupancy. We quantified the impact of induced crowding on the extracellular and intracellular protein organization of human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) via immunocytochemistry, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and AFM-enabled nanoindentation. Macromolecular crowding in extracellular culture media directly induced supramolecular assembly and alignment of extracellular matrix proteins deposited by cells, which in turn increased alignment of the intracellular actin cytoskeleton. The resulting cell-matrix reciprocity further affected adhesion, proliferation, and migration behavior of MSCs. Macromolecular crowding can thus aid the design of more physiologically relevant in vitro studies and devices for MSCs and other cells, by increasing the fidelity between materials synthesized by cells in vivo and in vitro.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.