title: Engineering three-dimensional cell mechanical microenvironment with hydrogels.
abstract: Cell mechanical microenvironment (CMM) significantly affects cell behaviors such as spreading, migration, proliferation and differentiation. However, most studies on cell response to mechanical stimulation are based on two-dimensional (2D) planar substrates, which cannot mimic native three-dimensional (3D) CMM. Accumulating evidence has shown that there is a significant difference in cell behavior in 2D and 3D microenvironments. Among the materials used for engineering 3D CMM, hydrogels have gained increasing attention due to their tunable properties (e.g. chemical and mechanical properties). In this paper, we provide an overview of recent advances in engineering hydrogel-based 3D CMM. Effects of mechanical cues (e.g. hydrogel stiffness and externally induced stress/strain in hydrogels) on cell behaviors are described. A variety of approaches to load mechanical stimuli in 3D hydrogel-based constructs are also discussed.
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Engineering and Biomechanics Center, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Guoyou
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Shuqi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yulong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Jinhui
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Qiancheng
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Tian Jian
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Lu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D060846:Cell Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D060833:Cellular Microenvironment / Q000502:physiology*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D006801:Humans; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D020100:Hydrogels