Substrate Stiffness as a Regulator in Catalyzing Integrin-mediated Cell Adhesion Nucleation: A Mechanochemical Model

摘要

We provide here a simplified mechanochemical model to describe the role of substrate stiffness in mediating the chemical reactions between integrins on cell membrane and ligands immobilized on the substrate. By taking into account the energy input for integrin activation on a compliant substrate, Our simulation shows that integrin activation and the downstream integrin clustering can be regulated by substrate stiffness in a value-dependent manner, which is consistent with previous experimental studies.