The Polymer Society of Korea

Abstract

Although the biomechanical properties of native extracellular matrix (ECM) and its contribution to the cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions play a critical role in maintaining tissue homeostasis and disease progression, an efficient method to understand these biological events during various fibrosis-associated disease progression is still a daunting task. Thus, in this talk, I will describe the dynamic role of cell-cell/cell-matrix interactions of various cells, which are cultured on biomaterials with varying matrix stiffnesses, in regulating disease progression by employing traction force microscopy, intracellular microscopy, and monolayer stress microscopy to understand the cell-generating forces and their subsequent contribution to the disease progression. Such a cell culture platform can offer novel strategies to understand the pathophysiology of various diseases.