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Zhang Q, Wang P, Fang X, Lin F, Fang J, Xiong C. Collagen gel contraction assays: From modelling wound healing to quantifying cellular interactions with three-dimensional extracellular matrices. Eur J Cell Biol 2022; 101:151253. [PMID: 35785635 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejcb.2022.151253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/25/2021] [Revised: 06/06/2022] [Accepted: 06/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Cells respond to and actively remodel the extracellular matrix (ECM). The dynamic and bidirectional interaction between cells and ECM, especially their mechanical interactions, has been found to play an essential role in triggering a series of complex biochemical and biomechanical signal pathways and in regulating cellular functions and behaviours. The collagen gel contraction assay (CGCA) is a widely used method to investigate cell-ECM interactions in 3D environments and provides a mechanically associated readout reflecting 3D cellular contractility. In this review, we summarize various versions of CGCA, with an emphasis on recent high-throughput and low-consumption CGCA techniques. More importantly, we focus on the technique of force monitoring during the contraction of collagen gel, which provides a quantitative characterization of the overall forces generated by all the resident cells in the collagen hydrogel. Accordingly, we present recent biological applications of the CGCA, which have expanded from the initial wound healing model to other studies concerning cell-ECM interactions, including fibrosis, cancer, tissue repair and the preparation of biomimetic microtissues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qing Zhang
- Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Pudi Wang
- Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Xu Fang
- Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Feng Lin
- Wenzhou Institute, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wenzhou 325000, China
| | - Jing Fang
- Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Chunyang Xiong
- Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; Wenzhou Institute, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wenzhou 325000, China.
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Nikpasand M, Mahutga RR, Bersie-Larson LM, Gacek E, Barocas VH. A Hybrid Microstructural-Continuum Multiscale Approach for Modeling Hyperelastic Fibrous Soft Tissue. JOURNAL OF ELASTICITY 2021; 145:295-319. [PMID: 36380845 PMCID: PMC9648697 DOI: 10.1007/s10659-021-09843-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2020] [Accepted: 05/19/2021] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The heterogeneous, nonlinear, anisotropic material behavior of biological tissues makes precise definition of an accurate constitutive model difficult. One possible solution to this issue would be to define microstructural elements and perform fully coupled multiscale simulation. However, for complex geometries and loading scenarios, the computational costs of such simulations can be prohibitive. Ideally then, we should seek a method that contains microstructural detail, but leverages the speed of classical continuum-based finite-element (FE) modeling. In this work, we demonstrate the use of the Holzapfel-Gasser-Ogden (HGO) model [1, 2] to fit the behavior of microstructural network models. We show that Delaunay microstructural networks can be fit to the HGO strain energy function by calculating fiber network strain energy and average fiber stretch ratio. We then use the HGO constitutive model in a FE framework to improve the speed of our hybrid model, and demonstrate that this method, combined with a material property update scheme, can match a full multiscale simulation. This method gives us flexibility in defining complex FE simulations that would be impossible, or at least prohibitively time consuming, in multiscale simulation, while still accounting for microstructural heterogeneity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maryam Nikpasand
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Ryan R. Mahutga
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Lauren M. Bersie-Larson
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Elizabeth Gacek
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Victor H. Barocas
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN, USA
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Burla F, Dussi S, Martinez-Torres C, Tauber J, van der Gucht J, Koenderink GH. Connectivity and plasticity determine collagen network fracture. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:8326-8334. [PMID: 32238564 PMCID: PMC7165426 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1920062117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Collagen forms the structural scaffold of connective tissues in all mammals. Tissues are remarkably resistant against mechanical deformations because collagen molecules hierarchically self-assemble in fibrous networks that stiffen with increasing strain. Nevertheless, collagen networks do fracture when tissues are overloaded or subject to pathological conditions such as aneurysms. Prior studies of the role of collagen in tissue fracture have mainly focused on tendons, which contain highly aligned bundles of collagen. By contrast, little is known about fracture of the orientationally more disordered collagen networks present in many other tissues such as skin and cartilage. Here, we combine shear rheology of reconstituted collagen networks with computer simulations to investigate the primary determinants of fracture in disordered collagen networks. We show that the fracture strain is controlled by the coordination number of the network junctions, with less connected networks fracturing at larger strains. The hierarchical structure of collagen fine-tunes the fracture strain by providing structural plasticity at the network and fiber level. Our findings imply that low connectivity and plasticity provide protective mechanisms against network fracture that can optimize the strength of biological tissues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federica Burla
- Biological Soft Matter Group, Department of Living Matter, AMOLF, 1098 XG Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Simone Dussi
- Physical Chemistry and Soft Matter, Wageningen University and Research, 6708 WE Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Cristina Martinez-Torres
- Biological Soft Matter Group, Department of Living Matter, AMOLF, 1098 XG Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Bionanoscience, Kavli Institute of Nanoscience Delft, Delft University of Technology, 2629 HZ Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Justin Tauber
- Physical Chemistry and Soft Matter, Wageningen University and Research, 6708 WE Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Jasper van der Gucht
- Physical Chemistry and Soft Matter, Wageningen University and Research, 6708 WE Wageningen, The Netherlands;
| | - Gijsje H Koenderink
- Biological Soft Matter Group, Department of Living Matter, AMOLF, 1098 XG Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
- Department of Bionanoscience, Kavli Institute of Nanoscience Delft, Delft University of Technology, 2629 HZ Delft, The Netherlands
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Toward rational algorithmic design of collagen-based biomaterials through multiscale computational modeling. Curr Opin Chem Eng 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.coche.2019.02.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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Mechanics of a two-fiber model with one nested fiber network, as applied to the collagen-fibrin system. Acta Biomater 2018; 72:306-315. [PMID: 29631049 DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2018.03.053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2017] [Revised: 03/28/2018] [Accepted: 03/30/2018] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
The mechanical behavior of collagen-fibrin (col-fib) co-gels is both scientifically interesting and clinically relevant. Collagen-fibrin networks are a staple of tissue engineering research, but the mechanical consequences of changes in co-gel composition have remained difficult to predict or even explain. We previously observed fundamental differences in failure behavior between collagen-rich and fibrin-rich co-gels, suggesting an essential change in how the two components interact as the co-gel's composition changes. In this work, we explored the hypothesis that the co-gel behavior is due to a lack of percolation by the dilute component. We generated a series of computational models based on interpenetrating fiber networks. In these models, the major network component percolated the model space but the minor component did not, instead occupying a small island embedded within the larger network. Each component was assigned properties based on a fit of single-component gel data. Island size was varied to match the relative concentrations of the two components. The model predicted that networks rich in collagen, the stiffer component, would roughly match pure-collagen gel behavior with little additional stress due to the fibrin, as seen experimentally. For fibrin-rich gels, however, the model predicted a smooth increase in the overall network strength with added collagen, as seen experimentally but not consistent with an additive parallel model. We thus conclude that incomplete percolation by the low-concentration component of a co-gel is a major determinant of its macroscopic properties, especially if the low-concentration component is the stiffer component. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE Models for the behavior of fibrous networks have useful applications in many different fields, including polymer science, textiles, and tissue engineering. In addition to being important structural components in soft tissues and blood clots, these protein networks can serve as scaffolds for bioartificial tissues. Thus, their mechanical behavior, especially in co-gels, is both interesting from a materials science standpoint and significant with regard to tissue engineering.
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Zhang S, Zarei V, Winkelstein BA, Barocas VH. Multiscale mechanics of the cervical facet capsular ligament, with particular emphasis on anomalous fiber realignment prior to tissue failure. Biomech Model Mechanobiol 2018; 17:133-145. [PMID: 28821971 PMCID: PMC5809183 DOI: 10.1007/s10237-017-0949-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2017] [Accepted: 08/04/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The facet capsular ligaments encapsulate the bilateral spinal facet joints and are common sources of painful injury due to afferent innervation. These ligaments exhibit architectural complexity, which is suspected to contribute to the experimentally observed lack of co-localization between macroscopic strain and microstructural tissue damage. The heterogeneous and multiscale nature of this ligament, combined with challenges in experimentally measuring its microscale mechanics, hinders the ability to understand sensory mechanisms under normal or injurious loading. Therefore, image-based, subject-specific, multiscale finite-element models were constructed to predict the mechanical responses of the human cervical facet capsular ligament under uniaxial tensile stretch. The models precisely simulated the force-displacement responses for all samples ([Formula: see text]) and showed promise in predicting the magnitude and location of peak regional strains at two different displacements. Yet, there was a loss of agreement between the model and experiment in terms of fiber organization at large tissue stretch, possibly due to a lack of accounting for tissue failure. The mean fiber stretch ratio predicted by the models was found to be significantly higher in regions that exhibited anomalous fiber realignment experimentally than in regions with normal realignment ([Formula: see text]). The development of microstructural abnormalities was associated with the predicted fiber-level stretch ([Formula: see text]), but not with the elemental maximum principal stress or maximum principal strain by logistic regression. The multiscale models elucidate a potential mechanical basis for predicting injury-prone tissue domains and for defining the relationships between macroscopic ligament stretch and microscale pathophysiology in the subfailure regime.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sijia Zhang
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Vahhab Zarei
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
| | - Beth A Winkelstein
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Victor H Barocas
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA.
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