Abstract
Mechanical stretch is widely experienced by cells of different tissues in the human body and plays critical roles in regulating their behaviors. Numerous studies have been devoted to investigating the responses of cells to mechanical stretch, providing us with fruitful findings. However, these findings have been mostly observed from two-dimensional studies and increasing evidence suggests that cells in three dimensions may behave more closely to their in vivo behaviors. While significant efforts and progresses have been made in the engineering of biomaterials and approaches for mechanical stretching of cells in three dimensions, much work remains to be done. Here, we briefly review the state-of-the-art researches in this area, with focus on discussing biomaterial considerations and stretching approaches. We envision that with the development of advanced biomaterials, actuators and microengineering technologies, more versatile and predictive three-dimensional cell stretching models would be available soon for extensive applications in such fields as mechanobiology, tissue engineering, and drug screening.
Highlights
Cells in the human body experience various mechanical forces such as tensile, shear, compressive, torsional and hydrostatic forces, with mechanical features depending on specific tissue types, development stages and body conditions (Polacheck et al, 2013; Giulitti et al, 2016; Huang G. et al, 2019)
As an essential cue for the survival, growth and functional performance of many types of cells, mechanical stretch is required but difficult to control in three dimensions
Hydrogels used for supporting cell stretching and culture in 3D usually have too simplified composition and poor controlled properties
Summary
Cells in the human body experience various mechanical forces such as tensile, shear, compressive, torsional and hydrostatic forces, with mechanical features depending on specific tissue types, development stages and body conditions (Polacheck et al, 2013; Giulitti et al, 2016; Huang G. et al, 2019). Various biomaterials and approaches have been developed for mechanical stretching of cells, most of which have been performed on two-dimensional (2D) substrates (Kurpinski et al, 2006; Yung et al, 2009; Cui et al, 2015; Wang et al, 2015; Kamble et al, 2016) In such studies, monolayer of cells is usually cultured on the surface of elastic membranes made of elastomer [typically polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)] or hydrogels. Commonly including motor-driven, indentation, FIGURE 2 | Many aspects of cell behaviors, including cell spreading, migration, orientation or alignment, proliferation, apoptosis and lineage differentiation, can be influenced by 3D mechanical stretching.
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