Figure 1
From: Mimicking Paracrine TGFβ1 Signals during Myofibroblast Differentiation in 3D Collagen Networks
Scheme of experimental setup. (A) Time course of cell experiments. Prior to experiments GAG-functionalized µ-beads were laden in TGFβ1 (cyan) solutions with defined loading concentrations. TGFβ1-laden µ-beads were already present during collagen network (brown) reconstitution and immobilized in the fibrillary network. After overnight equilibration of the network with cell culture medium, fibroblasts were seeded on top of the collagen networks. This is the start of cell experiments. (B) In the beginning fibroblasts are more elongated and apparently have no αSMA incorporated into their cytoskeleton. The cells are embedded in a 3D collagen network (brown). (C) After stimulation by TGFβ1 (cyan small dots) delivered from µ-beads (cyan large dots) fibroblasts transform into tissue-producing and -contracting myofibroblasts increasing network’s stiffness. They have a prominent cytoskeleton with incorporated αSMA (red) to connect focal adhesions (orange), which transfer the forces to the extracellular matrix.
