Cell-matrix Communication
Cell-matrix Communication - Related Videos
01:03
Communication
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2019
Communication between two animals occurs when one animal transmits an information signal that causes a change in the animal that receives the information. Organisms communicate with one another in a host of different ways. Signals can be auditory, chemical, visual, tactile, or a combination of these. Communication is a critical behavioral adaptation that promotes survival, growth, and reproduction. Types of Communication A common form of communication is visual. Visual communication can be...
09:59
Single-cell Microinjection for Cell Communication Analysis
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Cited by 7 •
2017
We describe here how to perform a single-cell microinjection of Lucifer Yellow to visualize cellular communication via gap-junctions in living cells, and provide some useful tips. We expect that this paper will help everyone to evaluate the degree of cellular coupling due to functional gap junctions. Everything described here could be, in principle, adapted to other fluorescent dyes with molecular weight below 1,000 Daltons.
10:55
Analyzing the Communication Between Monocytes and Primary Breast Cancer Cells in an Extracellular Matrix Extract (ECME)-based Three-dimensional System
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Cited by 6 •
2018
Here, we describe a three-dimensional culture method to analyze the morphology of primary breast cancer cells, as well as to study their direct/indirect interactions with monocytes and the outcomes such as collagen degradation, immune cell recruitment, cell invasion, and promotion of cancer-related inflammation.
04:13
Modeling Ovarian Cancer Communication for Imaging Mass Spectrometry Analysis: A Method to Identify Small Molecule Chemical Communicators in Metastatic Ovarian Tumor Development
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2023
This protocol describes a technique for sample preparation by co-culturing ovarian explants with the fallopian tube cancer cells. These samples are visualized using imaging mass spectroscopy, or IMS, to detect small molecule exchange between the cells and tissues leading to tumor development.
01:37
Contact-Dependent Cell Communication
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2026
Contact-dependent cell communication, as the name suggests, requires that communicating cells be in direct contact with each other. This is achieved either through receptor-ligand interactions or by specialized cytoplasmic channels that allow the flow of small molecules between cells. In animal cells, channels called gap junctions facilitate contact-dependent signaling in certain tissues, whereas plasmodesmata perform a similar function in plants.Juxtacrine SignalingJuxtacrine signaling...
FAQs
Integrins serve as a major sensing link between extracellular matrix cues and the cell’s interior. By clustering into focal adhesions, they connect those cues to the actin cytoskeleton and intracellular signaling pathways. This organization allows differences in matrix composition, stiffness, or organization to influence adhesion, spreading, migration, proliferation, survival, and differentiation.
Matrix composition, stiffness, and organization provide distinct classes of information. Composition describes what the surrounding network contains, while stiffness and organization represent its physical context. Cells integrate these cues through receptor-linked connections to the actin cytoskeleton and signaling pathways. Consequently, variation in matrix features can alter adhesion, spreading, migration, proliferation, survival, or differentiation.
Bidirectional signaling frames the matrix and the cell as active participants in tissue regulation rather than treating the matrix as passive support. Mechanical and biochemical information travels between these components, linking extracellular conditions with intracellular pathways and cell behavior. This perspective helps explain how local matrix characteristics can contribute to broader changes in tissue organization and function.
Researchers can assess changes in adhesion, spreading, migration, proliferation, survival, and differentiation. These outcomes show how cells interpret extracellular matrix signals through integrins, focal adhesions, the actin cytoskeleton, and intracellular pathways. Examining several responses together helps distinguish whether a matrix condition primarily affects attachment, movement, growth, persistence, or cell-state changes.
The signaling relationship helps explain how tissues regulate cell behavior during development and wound healing. It also provides biological context for cancer invasion and fibrosis, where altered interactions between cells and their surrounding matrix may be associated with abnormal behavior. Studying these settings connects matrix-derived mechanical and biochemical cues with tissue-level processes and disease mechanisms.
Cell-matrix communication informs biomaterial design and regenerative medicine by emphasizing that cells respond to matrix composition, stiffness, and organization, not only to structural support. Designing or evaluating a material therefore requires attention to the cues it presents to integrins and connected signaling systems. These considerations can help researchers study or control adhesion, spreading, migration, survival, and differentiation.