Matrix Mechanics and Cell Contractility in Angiogenesis - Mechanical and Chemical Signaling in Angiogenesis - page 140

Matrix Mechanics and Cell Contractility
in Angiogenesis

Joseph P. Califano and Cynthia A. Reinhart-King

Abstract Angiogenesis is a complex process that relies on the interplay of
chemical and mechanical signaling events that ultimately result in the formation of
new blood vessels. While much work has uncovered the chemical signaling events
that mediate angiogenesis, the role of the mechanical environment is less under-
stood. In this chapter, we will discuss how the mechanical microenvironment
regulates angiogenesis by examining how matrix stiffness and cellular contractility
mediate endothelial cell behaviors that are necessary for the progression of
angiogenesis. Specifically, we will describe the roles of matrix stiffness and cell
contractility as regulators of endothelial cell adhesion and shape, migration,
growth, cell-cell interactions, and cell-matrix remodeling. Collectively, these
findings implicate endogenous cellular forces and matrix stiffness as critical
components of the angiogenic microenvironment, and suggest that both are
important parameters for tissue engineering applications and a greater under-
standing of angiogenesis during disease progression.

1 Introduction

Angiogenesis is controlled by numerous chemical and mechanical signaling events
that result in the formation of new capillaries. It requires normally quiescent
endothelial cells to undergo changes in shape, proliferation, migration, and
extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling to form a new capillary network [ 1 ]. While

J. )

Department of Biomedical Engineering, Cornell University 302 Weill Hall,
526 Campus Road, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
e-mail: [e-mail]

P. Califano C. A. Reinhart-King (

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