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Biomechanics

Matrix Mechanics in Tissue Engineering

Matrix Flow Point Regulates T-cell Migration Through Confining Microenvironments

Friday, October 13, 2023
2:45 PM – 3:00 PM PDT
Location: 336 (Center, Level 3)

    Presenting Author(s)

  • Byunghang Ha, PhD (he/him/his)

    Postdoctoral fellow
    Stanford University
    Palo Alto, California, United States

    • Last Author(s)

  • Ovijit Chaudhuri, PhD

    Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and, by courtesy, Bioengineering
    Stanford University, United States

Extracellular matrices (ECMs) in soft tissues are often nanoporous, requiring T cells to open a path to migrate through. Additionally, ECMs exhibit plasticity, undergoing irreversible deformation under mechanical stress. However, the biophysical mechanisms that drive T cell migration through confined spaces mediated by plasticity remain unknown. Here, using tunable biomaterials for 3D cell culture, it was found not only that matrix plasticity impacts T cell motility but also that flow stress–critical shear stress level leading to material breakdown or flow–emerged as the robust predictor of cell migration.