Multiscale model predicts increasing focal adhesion size with decreasing stiffness in fibrous matrices

Multiscale model predicts increasing focal adhesion size with decreasing stiffness in fibrous matrices.

We describe a multiscale model that incorporates force-dependent mechanical plasticity induced by interfiber cross-link breakage and stiffness-dependent cellular contractility to predict focal adhesion (FA) growth and mechanosensing in fibrous extracellular matrices (ECMs). The model predicts that FA size depends on both the stiffness of ECM and the density of ligands available to form adhesion...

Focal adhesion size uniquely predicts cell migration.

Focal adhesions are large protein complexes organized at the basal surface of cells, which physically connect the extracellular matrix to the cytoskeleton and have long been speculated to mediate cell migration. However, whether clustering of these molecular components into focal adhesions is actually required for these proteins to regulate cell motility is unclear. Here we use quantitative mic...

THE MODEL UPDATING OF MASS, DAMPING AND STIFFNESS MATRICES

Multiscale Modeling of Stiffness, Friction and Adhesion in Mechanical Contacts

U O Q U A N T Fraction of surface atoms in contact, A /A f i c  Friction proportional to Ac and Ac proportional to load L for rough surfaces  Flat surfaces in complete contact at any load Molecular Simulations Differ on Applicability of Macroscopic Results at Atomic Scales friction and adhesion in macroscopic models  Results for flat surfaces can be mapped directly to other geometries usi...

The Focal Adhesion: A Regulated Component of Aortic Stiffness

Increased aortic stiffness is an acknowledged predictor and cause of cardiovascular disease. The sources and mechanisms of vascular stiffness are not well understood, although the extracellular matrix (ECM) has been assumed to be a major component. We tested here the hypothesis that the focal adhesions (FAs) connecting the cortical cytoskeleton of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) to the mat...