May 2021. In this study we developed innovative methodology to discover that collagen alignment results in a 35-fold difference in cell-scale stiffness and alters contractile force transmission through the fiber network. Furthermore, we identified bias in cell response along the axis of alignment, where local stiffness is highest. Overall, our results define cell-scale stiffness and fiber deformations due to collagen architecture that may instruct cell communication within a broad range of tissue microenvironments.
Read the full article at: https://authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S1742-7061(21)00299-3