Extracellular Matrix Mechanics in Disease States
Event details
Date | 29.11.2022 |
Hour | 16:00 › 17:00 |
Speaker | Prof. Joshua M. Grolman, Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa (IL) |
Location | Online |
Category | Conferences - Seminars |
Event Language | English |
BIOENGINEERING SEMINAR
Abstract:
Mammalian cell morphology has been linked to the viscoelastic properties of the adhesion substrate, which is particularly relevant in biological processes such as wound repair and embryonic development where cell spreading and migration are critical. Plastic deformation, degradation, and relaxation of stress are typically coupled in biomaterial systems used to explore these effects, making it unclear which variable drives cell behavior. Here we present a nondegradable polymer architecture that specifically decouples irreversible creep from stress relaxation and modulus. We demonstrate that network plasticity independently controls mesenchymal stem cell spreading through a biphasic relationship dependent on cell-intrinsic forces, and this relationship can be shifted by inhibiting actomyosin contractility. Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations also show strong correlation with experimental cell spreading data as a function of the extracellular matrix (ECM) plasticity. Furthermore, plasticity regulates many ECM adhesion and remodeling genes. Altogether, these findings confirm a key role for matrix plasticity in stem cell biophysics, and we anticipate this will have ramifications in the design of biomaterials to enhance therapeutic applications of stem cells.
Bio:
Joshua M. Grolman received his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2016, under the supervision of HHMI Professor Jeffrey S. Moore, working on pH-sensitive polymers and micropatterned vascular tumor models. He then completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Wyss institute at Harvard Medical School with Professor David J. Mooney, working on the fundamental mechanisms behind mechanotransduction of stem cells and immune cells. His current research focuses on measuring tissue mechanics and architectural changes in the fetal membrane resulting in preterm birth, mechanical adjuvants for vaccines, and developing next-generation tools to capture real-time mechanical forces in 3D.
Zoom link for attending remotely: https://epfl.zoom.us/j/67391810418
Abstract:
Mammalian cell morphology has been linked to the viscoelastic properties of the adhesion substrate, which is particularly relevant in biological processes such as wound repair and embryonic development where cell spreading and migration are critical. Plastic deformation, degradation, and relaxation of stress are typically coupled in biomaterial systems used to explore these effects, making it unclear which variable drives cell behavior. Here we present a nondegradable polymer architecture that specifically decouples irreversible creep from stress relaxation and modulus. We demonstrate that network plasticity independently controls mesenchymal stem cell spreading through a biphasic relationship dependent on cell-intrinsic forces, and this relationship can be shifted by inhibiting actomyosin contractility. Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations also show strong correlation with experimental cell spreading data as a function of the extracellular matrix (ECM) plasticity. Furthermore, plasticity regulates many ECM adhesion and remodeling genes. Altogether, these findings confirm a key role for matrix plasticity in stem cell biophysics, and we anticipate this will have ramifications in the design of biomaterials to enhance therapeutic applications of stem cells.
Bio:
Joshua M. Grolman received his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2016, under the supervision of HHMI Professor Jeffrey S. Moore, working on pH-sensitive polymers and micropatterned vascular tumor models. He then completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Wyss institute at Harvard Medical School with Professor David J. Mooney, working on the fundamental mechanisms behind mechanotransduction of stem cells and immune cells. His current research focuses on measuring tissue mechanics and architectural changes in the fetal membrane resulting in preterm birth, mechanical adjuvants for vaccines, and developing next-generation tools to capture real-time mechanical forces in 3D.
Zoom link for attending remotely: https://epfl.zoom.us/j/67391810418
Practical information
- Informed public
- Free