Extracellular matrix articles from across Nature Portfolio

Cells struggle to migrate on soft substrates, which don’t provide enough traction. Here, the authors show that rapid, cyclic changes in substrate rigidity allow cells to overcome this limitation and move quickly.

During angiogenesis, a new branch elongates while the lumen develops. Here, the authors show that perivascular stiffening integrates branch elongation and lumen development to allow angiogenesis to proceed properly while exposed to blood flow.

This study provides key mechanistic insights into how direct coupling of ECM to actin through talin has specific and critical roles in controlling adhesion dynamics required for early mammalian development.

A hybrid extracellular matrix–hydrogel with tunable mechanical stiffness and biochemical composition of young or aged cardiac tissue is used to identify the specific contributions of extracellular matrix ligands and mechanics for fibroblast aging.

The fibrous geometry of extracellular matrices (ECMs) is believed to facilitate cell adhesion, but a mechanistic link is lacking. We uncover a type of integrin-mediated cell adhesion — ‘curved adhesion’ — driven by the fibrous geometry of the ECM. Curved adhesions are induced by membrane curvature, enabling cell adhesion to soft three-dimensional (3D) ECM fibres.

In this Tools of the Trade article, William Leineweber (from the Fraley lab) describes the set-up of an integrated biophysical imaging platform that allows researchers to assess the interactions between cells and the surrounding extracellular matrix.

Age-related stiffening of the extracellular matrix in cartilage promotes chondrocyte ageing in an epigenetically controlled process involving repression of the longevity protein α-Klotho.