Cell-Induced Dynamic Remodeling of an Extracellular Matrix

It has been known that cells are able to structurally remodel a surrounding extracellular matrix (ECM) by exerting contractile forces. We recently demonstrated how forces generated from a contracting cell are transmitted to and remodel ECM using a computational model. However, we did not consider cell protrusion and dynamic focal adhesion (FA) formation in the former model. In this study, we significantly improved the model to simulate dynamic remodeling of ECM driven by cells under more physiologically relevant conditions. In the new model, cells keep protruding and contracting with dynamic formation and turnover of FA sites. In addition, force-dependent redistribution of myosin motors was considered. We found that substantial ECM remodeling observed in experiments is reproducible only with consistent cell protrusion and contraction, which is why former models only with cell contraction failed to reproduce large ECM deformations. In addition, we demonstrated that dynamic FAs and force-induced myosin redistribution can further enhance the ECM deformation. Our results provide insights into understanding the mechanisms of cell-induced ECM remodeling.