1st Edition

Cell and Matrix Mechanics

Edited By Roland Kaunas, Assaf Zemel Copyright 2015
    376 Pages 95 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    376 Pages 95 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    Explores a Range of Multiscale Biomechanics/Mechanobiology Concepts

    Cell and Matrix Mechanics presents cutting-edge research at the molecular, cellular, and tissue levels in the field of cell mechanics. This book involves key experts in the field, and covers crucial areas of cell and tissue mechanics, with an emphasis on the roles of mechanical forces in cell–matrix interactions. Providing material in each chapter that builds on the previous chapters, it effectively integrates length scales and contains, for each length scale, key experimental observations and corresponding quantitative theoretical models.

    Summarizes the Three Hierarchical Levels of Cell Mechanics

    The book contains 14 chapters and is organized into three sections. The first section focuses on the molecular level, the second section details mechanics at the cellular level, and the third section explores cellular mechanics at the tissue level. The authors offer a thorough description of the roles of mechanical forces in cell and tissue biology, and include specific examples. They incorporate descriptions of associated theoretical models, and provide the data and modeling framework needed for a multi-scale analysis. In addition, they highlight the pioneering studies in cell–matrix mechanics by Albert K. Harris.

    The topics covered include:

    • The passive and active mechanical properties of cytoskeletal polymers and associated motor proteins along with the behavior of polymer networks
    • The mechanical properties of the cell membrane, with an emphasis on membrane protein activation caused by membrane forces
    • The hierarchical organization of collagen fibrils, revealing that a delicate balance exists between specific and nonspecific interactions to result in a structure with semicrystalline order as well as loose associations
    • The roles of matrix mechanical properties on cell adhesion and function along with different mechanical mechanisms of cell–cell interactions
    • The effects of mechanical loading on cell cytoskeletal remodeling, summarizing various modeling approaches that explain possible mechanisms regulating the alignment of actin stress fibers in response to stretching
    • The mechanical testing of cell-populated collagen matrices, along with theory relating the passive and active mechanical properties of the engineered tissues
    • Cell migration behavior in 3-D matrices and in collective cell motility
    • The role of mechanics in cartilage development
    • The roles of both cellular and external forces on tissue morphogenesis
    • The roles of mechanical forces on tumor growth and cancer metastasis

    Cell and Matrix Mechanics succinctly and systematically explains the roles of mechanical forces in cell–matrix biology. Practitioners and researchers in engineering and physics, as well as graduate students in biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering related to mechanobiology, can benefit from this work.

    Active Mechanics of the Cytoskeleton; José Alvarado and Gijsje Koenderink

    Mechanobiology of the Cell Membrane; Peter J Butler, Hari S Muddana, and Sara Farag

    Cellular Reconstitution of Actively Self-Organizing Systems; Orit Siton-Mendelson, Barak Gilboa, Yaron Ideses, and Anne Bernheim-Groswasser

    Structural and Dynamical Hierarchy of Fibrillar Collagen; Xiaojing Teng and Dr Wonmuk Hwang

    Cell–Matrix and Cell–Cell Mechanical Interactions; Assaf Zemel and Ralf Kemkemer

    Dynamic Stress Fiber Reorganization on Stretched Matrices; Roland Kaunas

    Mechanics of Cell-Seeded ECM Scaffolds; Guy M Genin and Elliot L Elson

    Cell Motility in 3D Matrices; Yasha Sharma and Muhammad H Zaman

    Collective Cell Migration; Nir S Gov

    Connective Tissue Development; Albert K. Harris

    Cellular Forces in Morphogenesis; Larry A Taber

    Mechanics of Tissue Morphogenesis; Michael J Siedlik and Celeste M Nelson

    Continuum Physics of Tumor Growth; Kristen L Mills, Shiva Rudraraju, Ralf Kemkemer, and Krishna Garikipati

    Cell Force–Mediated Collagen Remodeling in Cancer Metastasis; Paolo P Provenzano

    Index

    Biography

    Roland Kaunas is an associate professor of biomedical engineering and the director of the Cell Mechanobiology Laboratory at Texas A&M University. He earned his BS in chemical engineering at the University of Wisconsin, his MS in biomedical engineering at Northwestern University, and his PhD in bioengineering from the University of California, San Diego. He joined the faculty at Texas A&M in 2005. His research focuses on experimental and computational modeling of cell reorganization and mechanotransduction in response to matrix stretching, fluid shear stress mechanotransduction in sprouting angiogenesis, and the development of collagen-based scaffolds for adult stem cell delivery for osteoregenerative therapies.

    Assaf Zemel is a senior lecturer of theoretical biophysics and head of theoretical biophysics laboratory at the Institute of Dental Sciences at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is also affiliated with the Fritz Haber Research Center for Molecular Dynamics at the Center for Bioengineering of the Hebrew University. Assaf earned his PhD in theoretical chemistry from the Hebrew University. He then shifted to the field of cell mechanics for his postdoctoral research. His current research focuses on understanding the physical mechanisms underlying the morphology, dynamics and internal structure of cells, and the mechanics of cell–cell interactions and morphogenesis.