3D Confinement Regulates Cell Life and Death

Biophysical properties of the cellular microenvironment, including stiffness and geometry, have been shown to influence cell function. Recent findings implicated 3D confinement as an important regulator behavior. The understanding how mechanical signals direct function is based primarily on 2D studies. To investigate extent affects function, a single culture platform fabricated with geometrically defined fully enclosed microwells it applied niche volume affect human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) life death. viability proliferation hMSCs in confined microniches are compared unconfined 2D. Confinement biases hMSC proliferation, this depends stiffness. rate death increases markedly decreases upon confinement. observed differences behavior correlated changes nuclear morphology YES-associated protein (YAP) localization. In smaller microniches, display more rounded nuclei cytoplasmic YAP localization, indicating reduced activation Interestingly, these effects scale These results demonstrate that can be