Cell and Matrix Mechanobiology: Current State and Future Directions; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; October 26-28, 2015

研讨会的目标，细胞和基质机械生物学：现状和未来方向，伊利诺伊大学香槟分校，2015年10月26-28日；(1)明确定义在理解活细胞如何感觉和改变其机械环境方面取得进展的重要障碍，(2)讨论和定义可能的实验和计算机程序，这些实验和计算机程序是理解机械感觉如何在细胞活动、迁移和组织生长中产生变化所需的工具，(3)探索开发人工模拟细胞感知机械负荷和适应材料微结构的能力的新工程技术的潜在社会影响，以及最后，(4)创建指导该领域的研究路线图，以便能够实现重要目标。过去30年中获得的可信的实验证据现在已经确立了细胞外生物物理线索，如力和基质硬度等，对细胞的生长、运动、分化、凋亡、基因表达、黏附和信号转导等广泛的行为都有深远的影响。最近，人们认识到，细胞不仅对来自矩阵的这些提示做出反应，而且还对矩阵进行重塑，从而影响后续提示。这种动态的相互作用导致了细胞/基质系统的涌现特性，并且这两个组成部分随着时间的推移而共同进化。这在胚胎发生、发育和肿瘤生长中尤其普遍。力学在决定这种互惠关系方面的确切作用仍然难以捉摸。参加研讨会的世界专家将为社区成员和国家科学基金会制定路线图和白皮书，以帮助指导未来的研究，以最大限度地提高在新的和可能非常重要的研究领域的调查效率。

The goals of the workshop, Cell and Matrix Mechanobiology: Current State and Future Directions; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; October 26-28, 2015; are to (1) clearly define the important barriers to progress in understanding how living cells feel and change their mechanical environment, (2) to discuss and define possible experiments and computer programs that are the tools needed to understand how mechanical sensation creates changes in cell activity, migration and tissue growth, (3) to explore the potential societal impact from developing new engineering technologies that artificially mimic the ability of cells to sense mechanical loading and adapt material microstructure, and, finally, (4) to create a research roadmap to guide the field so that the important goals can be achieved.Considerable experimental evidence acquired during the last three decades has now established that extracellular biophysical cues, such as forces and matrix stiffness, have a profound influence on a wide range of cell behaviors such as growth, motility, differentiation, apoptosis, gene expression, adhesion and signal transduction. More recently, it has been appreciated that cells not only respond to these cues from the matrix, but also remodel the matrix and hence influence the subsequent cues. This dynamic reciprocity gives rise to emergent properties of the cell/matrix system, and both components co-evolve with time. This is particularly prevalent in embryogenesis, development and tumor growth. The precise role of mechanics in determining this reciprocity remains elusive. World experts in the field attending the workshop will develop a roadmap and white paper for members of the community and the National Science Foundation to help guide future research to maximize the effectiveness of investigations in the new and potentially highly important research field.