Microfluidics has recently emerged as a powerful tool in generation of submillimeter-sized
cell aggregates capable of performing tissue-specific functions, so-called microtissues, for …

In 1971, Gabbiani and co-workers discovered and characterized the “modification of
fibroblasts into cells which are capable of an active spasm”(contraction) in rat wound …

Introduction Tissues can be soft like brain, bone marrow, and fat, which bear little
mechanical stress, or stiff like muscle, cartilage, and bone, which sustain high levels of …

The function of the kidney, filtering blood and concentrating metabolic waste into urine, takes
place in an intricate and functionally elegant structure called the renal glomerulus. Normal …

The responses of cells to chemical signals are relatively well characterized and understood.
Cells also respond to mechanical signals in the form of externally applied force and forces …

The viscoelasticity of the crosslinked semiflexible polymer networks—such as the internal
cytoskeleton and the extracellular matrix—that provide shape and mechanical resistance …

The glomerular basement membrane (GBM) is the central, non-cellular layer of the
glomerular filtration barrier that is situated between the two cellular components …

Advancements in the field of tissue engineering have led to the elucidation of physical and
chemical characteristics of physiological basement membranes (BM) as specialized forms of …

Many cell types, including neurons, astrocytes and other cells of the central nervous system,
respond to changes in the extracellular matrix or substrate viscoelasticity, and increased …

The basement membrane (BM) is a special type of extracellular matrix that lines the basal
side of epithelial and endothelial tissues. Functionally, the BM is important for providing …