ArticleBulletin of mathematical biology2017
Mechanical Cell-Cell Communication in Fibrous Networks: The Importance of Network Geometry.
Article in Bulletin of mathematical biology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers.
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Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 53 citations in OpenAlex.
- Cancer cells metastasize in several types of cancer via two distinct routes, probably based on mechanical signals.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2026Review
- Multiscale modelling shows how cell-ECM interactions impact ECM fibre alignment and cell detachment.PLoS computational biology · 2025Article
- Compressive instabilities enable cell-induced extreme densification patterns in the fibrous extracellular matrix: Discrete model predictions.PLoS computational biology · 2024Article
- Unexpected softening of a fibrous matrix by contracting inclusions.Acta biomaterialia · 2024Article
- Mechanical Intercellular Communication via Matrix-Borne Cell Force Transmission During Vascular Network Formation.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2024Article
- Modeling the extracellular matrix in cell migration and morphogenesis: a guide for the curious biologist.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2024Review
- The Effect of Substrate Stiffness on Elastic Force Transmission in the Epithelial Monolayers over Short Timescales.Cellular and molecular bioengineering · 2023Article
- Fiber alignment in 3D collagen networks as a biophysical marker for cell contractility.Matrix biology : journal of the International Society for Matrix Biology · 2023Article
- Hybrid cellular Potts and bead-spring modeling of cells in fibrous extracellular matrix.Biophysical journal · 2023Article
- A cell-based framework for modeling cardiac mechanics.Biomechanics and modeling in mechanobiology · 2023Article
- Multiple particle tracking (MPT) using PEGylated nanoparticles reveals heterogeneity within murine lymph nodes and between lymph nodes at different locations.Biomaterials science · 2022Article
- Random Fiber Network Loaded by a Point Force.Journal of applied mechanics · 2022Article
- Disentangling cadherin-mediated cell-cell interactions in collective cancer cell migration.Biophysical journal · 2022Article
- Construction of Intelligent Substation-Optimized Networking Communication Network Based on Source-Network-Load Interaction Environment.Journal of environmental and public health · 2022Article
- Meaningful connections: Interrogating the role of physical fibroblast cell-cell communication in cancer.Advances in cancer research · 2022Article
- A computational framework for modeling cell-matrix interactions in soft biological tissues.Biomechanics and modeling in mechanobiology · 2021Article
- Long-range mechanical signaling in biological systems.Soft matter · 2021Review
- Size Effects in Random Fiber Networks Controlled by the Use of Generalized Boundary Conditions.International journal of solids and structures · 2020Article
- Long-range mechanical coupling of cells in 3D fibrin gels.Molecular biology of the cell · 2020Article
- Biomechanical properties of anuran long bones: correlations with locomotor modes and habitat use.Journal of anatomy · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Cells contracting in extracellular matrix (ECM) can transmit stress over long distances, communicating their position and orientation to cells many tens of micrometres away. Such phenomena are not observed when cells are seeded on substrates with linear elastic properties, such as polyacrylamide (PA) gel. The ability for fibrous substrates to support far reaching stress and strain fields has implications for many physiological processes, while the mechanical properties of ECM are central to several pathological processes, including tumour invasion and fibrosis. Theoretical models have investigated the properties of ECM in a variety of network geometries. However, the effects of network architecture on mechanical cell-cell communication have received little attention. This work investigates the effects of geometry on network mechanics, and thus the ability for cells to communicate mechanically through different networks. Cell-derived displacement fields are quantified for various network geometries while controlling for network topology, cross-link density and micromechanical properties. We find that the heterogeneity of response, fibre alignment, and substrate displacement fields are sensitive to network choice. Further, we show that certain geometries support mechanical communication over longer distances than others. As such, we predict that the choice of network geometry is important in fundamental modelling of cell-cell interactions in fibrous substrates, as well as in experimental settings, where mechanical signalling at the cellular scale plays an important role. This work thus informs the construction of theoretical models for substrate mechanics and experimental explorations of mechanical cell-cell communication.
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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.