ArticleDevelopmental cell2021
3D mesenchymal cell migration is driven by anterior cellular contraction that generates an extracellular matrix prestrain.
Article in Developmental cell, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 58 papers.
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Who cites it
58 citing papers in PubMed, 97 citations in OpenAlex.
- Physical continuity at biomaterial-ECM interfaces is associated with reduced fibroblast activation and NF-κB signaling.Biomaterials · 2026Article
- Cellular Responses to Mechanical Cues Across Scales: From Fundamental Insights to Translational Potential.Advanced healthcare materials · 2026Review
- Amoeboid-mesenchymal transition and the proteolytic control of cancer invasion plasticity.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Guidance for 3D traction force microscopy today and in the next decade.Nature methods · 2026Review
- Multiscale modelling shows how cell-ECM interactions impact ECM fibre alignment and cell detachment.PLoS computational biology · 2025Article
- The role of non-linear viscoelastic hydrogel mechanics in cell culture and transduction.Materials today. Bio · 2025Review
- Tension-induced directional migration of hepatic stellate cells potentially coordinates liver fibrosis progression.Nature biomedical engineering · 2025Article
- Migrating immune cells globally coordinate protrusive forces.Nature immunology · 2025Article
- Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts: Heterogeneity, Cancer Pathogenesis, and Therapeutic Targets.MedComm · 2025Review
- Enhanced extracellular matrix remodeling due to embedded spheroid fluidization.New journal of physics · 2025Article
- Tuning collagen nonlinear mechanics with interpenetrating networks drives adaptive cellular phenotypes in three dimensions.Science advances · 2025Article
- How does the tubulin code facilitate directed cell migration?Biochemical Society transactions · 2025Review
- The role of dynamic reciprocity in 3D cell migration: connecting cell and matrix mechanics to migratory plasticity.npj biological physics and mechanics · 2025Review
- Tunable viscoelastic collagen/polyethylene glycol composite hydrogels modulate neural and tumor cell behavior in 3D microenvironments.Biomaterials translational · 2025Article
- Excitable Rho dynamics control cell shape and motility by sequentially activating ERM proteins and actomyosin contractility.Science advances · 2024Article
- On the generation of force required for actin-based motility.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Matrix stiffness-dependent regulation of immunomodulatory genes in human MSCs is associated with the lncRNA CYTOR.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
- Fascin-1 limits myosin activity in microglia to control mechanical characterization of the injured spinal cord.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2024Article
- Imaging actin organisation and dynamics in 3D.Journal of cell science · 2024Article
- SEMAPL bioengineering · 2023Article
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5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
We describe a cellular contractile mechanism employed by fibroblasts and mesenchymal cancer cells to migrate in 3D collagen gels. During 3D spreading, fibroblasts strongly deform the matrix. They protrude, polarize, and initiate migration in the direction of highest extracellular matrix (ECM) deformation (prestrain). This prestrain is maintained through anterior cellular contractions behind the leading edge prior to protrusion, coordinating a distinct 3D migration cycle that varies between cell types. Myosin IIA is required for strain polarization, generating anterior contractions, and maintaining prestrain for efficient directional cell migration. Local matrix severing disrupts the matrix prestrain, suppressing directional protrusion. We show that epithelial cancer and endothelial cells rarely demonstrate the sustained prestrain or anterior contractions. We propose that mesenchymal cells sense ECM stiffness in 3D and generate their own matrix prestrain. This requires myosin IIA to generate polarized periodic anterior contractions for maintaining a 3D migration cycle.
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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.