Cells in their in vivo microenvironment constantly encounter and respond to a multitude of
signals. While the role of biochemical signals has long been appreciated, the importance of …

Living tissues are active, multifunctional materials capable of generating, sensing,
withstanding and responding to mechanical stress. These capabilities enable tissues to …

Cell elongation and polarization are basic morphogenetic responses to extracellular matrix
adhesion. We demonstrate here that human cultured fibroblasts readily polarize when …

A fundamental feature of multicellular organisms is their ability to self-repair wounds through
the movement of epithelial cells into the damaged area. This collective cellular movement is …

The role of geometrical confinement on collective cell migration has been recognized but
has not been elucidated yet. Here, we show that the geometrical properties of the …

In the body, soft tissues often undergo cycles of stretching and relaxation that may affect cell
behaviour without changing matrix rigidity. To determine whether transient forces can …

The directed migration of cellular clusters enables morphogenesis, wound healing and
collective cancer invasion. Gradients of substrate stiffness direct the migration of cellular …

The advent of the miniaturization approach has influenced the research trends in almost all
disciplines. Bioengineering is one of the fields benefiting from the new possibilities of …

Collective behavior refers to the emergence of complex migration patterns over scales larger
than those of the individual elements constituting a system. It plays a pivotal role in …

Cell growth and differentiation are critically dependent upon matrix rigidity, yet many aspects
of the cellular rigidity-sensing mechanism are not understood. Here, we analyze matrix …