Nonlinear elasticity of the ECM fibers facilitates efficient inter-cellular communication

Biological cells embedded in fibrous matrices have been observed to form inter-cellular bands of dense and aligned fibers, through which they mechanically interact over long distances. Such matrix-mediated cellular interactions have been shown to regulate various biological processes. The current study aimed to explore the effects of elastic nonlinearity of the fibers contained in the extracellular matrix (ECM) on the transmission of mechanical loads between contracting cells. Based on our biological experiments, we developed a finite-element model of two contracting cells embedded within a fibrous network.

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