Theme 2 colloquium: 'Extracellular Matrix Viscoelasticity and its Impact on Cells' (Lecture)

Extracellular matrix viscoelasticity and its impact on cells

The extracellular matrix (ECM) is a complex assembly of structural proteins that provides physical support and biochemical signaling to cells in tissues. Over the last two decades, studies have revealed the important role that ECM elasticity plays in regulating a variety of biological processes in cells, including stem cell differentiation and cancer progression. However, tissues and ECM are often viscoelastic, displaying stress relaxation over time in response to a deformation, and viscoplastic, exhibiting irreversible deformations in response to mechanical stress.  In this talk, I will discuss our recent findings on how matrix viscoelasticity regulates stem cell migration, the morphogenesis of pluripotent stem cells, cell division, and breast cancer progression.

This lecture is part of the IMM Theme 2 – Chemistry of Complex Systems – colloquium series, in which researchers from IMM Theme 2 as well as high-profile researchers from outside Radboud University present work that is of interest to scientists across chemistry, physics and biology. We aim for diversity in the selection of topics and researchers. These lectures take place on the second Tuesday of every month and are open to everyone in who is interested.