Active Manipulation of ECM Stiffness

Abstract

The mechanical properties of the microstructures surrounding cells influence the behavior of cells in differentiation, proliferation, and apoptosis, etc. The stiffness of the extra-cellular microenvironment has been shown to be one such mechanical property. Studies reported in the literature concerning the stiffness of the extracellular microenvironment mainly sought to understand the scientific principles and mechanisms underlying its effect on cell-environment interaction. This paper describes an approach that achieves such manipulation, and reports experimental results that demonstrate the effectiveness of this proposed approach.