Stem cell migration - is stiffer better?

摘要

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are involved in tissue repair at sites of injury. One of the homing factors that guide MSCs to these sites is the rigidity of the environment. Fibrotic lesions are naturally stiffer than healthy tissue, which creates a stiffness gradient that cells can sense. Vincent et al. (University of California, USA) utilize polyacrylamide hydrogels with varying stiffness gradi- ent strengths to demonstrate that the migration speed of human MSC up a stiffness gradient correlates with gradient strength rather than gradient range.