Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35978549›Full record

ArticleBiophysical journal2022

Unified multiscale theory of cellular mechanical adaptations to substrate stiffness.

Peng-Cheng Chen, Xi-Qiao Feng, Bo Li

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Biophysical journal, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Chemical compensation to mechanical loss in cell mechanosensation.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
  3. Adhesion-regulated dynamics of cells.Biophysical journal · 2025
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Directional Cell Migration Guided by a Strain Gradient.Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) · 2024
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Peng-Cheng ChenInstitute of Biomechanics and Medical Engineering, Applied Mechanics Laboratory, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
Xi-Qiao FengInstitute of Biomechanics and Medical Engineering, Applied Mechanics Laboratory, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
Bo LiInstitute of Biomechanics and Medical Engineering, Applied Mechanics Laboratory, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China. Electronic address: libome@tsinghua.edu.cn.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Rigidity of the extracellular matrix markedly regulates many cellular processes. However, how cells detect and respond to matrix rigidity remains incompletely understood. Here, we propose a unified two-dimensional multiscale framework accounting for the chemomechanical feedback to explore the interrelated cellular mechanosensing, polarization, and migration, which constitute the dynamic cascade in cellular response to matrix stiffness but are often modeled separately in previous theories. By combining integrin dynamics and intracellular force transduction, we show that substrate stiffness can act as a switch to activate or deactivate cell polarization. Our theory quantitatively reproduces rich stiffness-dependent cellular dynamics, including spreading, polarity selection, migration pattern, durotaxis, and even negative durotaxis, reported in a wide spectrum of cell types, and reconciles some inconsistent experimental observations. We find that a specific bipolarized mode can determine the optimal substrate stiffness, which enables the fastest cell migration rather than the largest traction forces that cells apply on the substrate. We identify that such a mechanical adaptation stems from the force balance across the whole cell. These findings could yield universal insights into various stiffness-mediated cellular processes within the context of tissue morphogenesis, wound healing, and cancer invasion.

Indexed as

Extracellular MatrixFocal AdhesionsCell MovementIntegrinsMechanical PhenomenaMechanotransduction, CellularIntegrins

Identifiers

PMID35978549
PMCPMC9515123

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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.