ArticleScientific reports2016
Topographic confinement of epithelial clusters induces epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in compliant matrices.
Article in Scientific reports, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- 3DACS biomaterials science & engineering · 2023Pooled it
- Reduced mechanical shear is associated with early cortical differentiation and GDNF-GFRA1/RET signalling in human brain organoids.Stem cells translational medicine · 2026Article
- Emergent depth-mechanosensing of epithelial collectives regulates cell clustering and dispersal on layered matrices.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Gradients in cell density and shape transitions drive collective cell migration into confining environments.Soft matter · 2025Article
- Microchip construction for migration assays: investigating the impact of physical confinement on cell morphology and motility during vaccinia virus infection.Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry · 2024Article
- Epithelial multicellular clustering enabled by polarized macrophages on soft matrices.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2023Article
- Matrix obstructions cause multiscale disruption in collective epithelial migration by suppressing leader cell function.Molecular biology of the cell · 2023Article
- Reciprocal intra- and extra-cellular polarity enables deep mechanosensing through layered matrices.Cell reports · 2023Article
- Nucleoli in epithelial cell collectives respond to tumorigenic, spatial, and mechanical cues.Molecular biology of the cell · 2022Article
- Microfluidic Lab-on-a-Chip for Studies of Cell Migration under Spatial Confinement.Biosensors · 2022Review
- Biophysics Role and Biomimetic Culture Systems of ECM Stiffness in Cancer EMT.Global challenges (Hoboken, NJ) · 2022Review
- Current hydrogel advances in physicochemical and biological response-driven biomedical application diversity.Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 2021Review
- The effects of surface topography modification on hydrogel properties.APL bioengineering · 2021Review
- Verteporfin treatment controls morphology, phenotype, and global gene expression for cells of the human nucleus pulposus.JOR spine · 2020Article
- Mechanosensing of Mechanical Confinement by Mesenchymal-Like Cells.Frontiers in physiology · 2020Review
- Longer collagen fibers trigger multicellular streaming on soft substrates via enhanced forces and cell-cell cooperation.Journal of cell science · 2019Article
- The TRPV4-TAZ mechanotransduction signaling axis in matrix stiffness- and TGFβ1-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition.Cellular and molecular bioengineering · 2019Article
- Controlled dissolution of freeform 3D printed carbohydrate glass scaffolds in hydrogels using a hydrophobic spray coating.Additive manufacturing · 2019Article
- TRPV4 regulates matrix stiffness and TGFβ1-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition.Journal of cellular and molecular medicine · 2019Article
- Endothelial Cell Mechanotransduction in the Dynamic Vascular Environment.Advanced biosystems · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Epithelial cells disengage from their clusters and become motile by undergoing epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), an essential process for both embryonic development and tumor metastasis. Growing evidence suggests that high extracellular matrix (ECM) stiffness induces EMT. In reality, epithelial clusters reside in a heterogeneous microenvironment whose mechanical properties vary not only in terms of stiffness, but also topography, dimensionality, and confinement. Yet, very little is known about how various geometrical parameters of the ECM might influence EMT. Here, we adapt a hydrogel-microchannels based matrix platform to culture mammary epithelial cell clusters in ECMs of tunable stiffness and confinement. We report a previously unidentified role of ECM confinement in EMT induction. Surprisingly, confinement induces EMT even in the cell clusters surrounded by a soft matrix, which otherwise protects against EMT in unconfined environments. Further, we demonstrate that stiffness-induced and confinement-induced EMT work through cell-matrix adhesions and cytoskeletal polarization, respectively. These findings highlight that both the structure and the stiffness of the ECM can independently regulate EMT, which brings a fresh perspective to the existing paradigm of matrix stiffness-dependent dissemination and invasion of tumor cells.
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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.