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，细胞和基质力学生物学：现状和未来方向；伊利诺伊大学厄巴纳-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受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)探索人工模拟细胞感知机械载荷和适应材料微观结构能力的新工程技术的潜在社会影响；最后，(4)创建一个研究路线图来指导该领域，以便实现重要目标。在过去三十年中获得的大量实验证据已经确定，细胞外生物物理信号，如力和基质刚度，对细胞的生长、运动、分化、凋亡、基因表达、粘附和信号转导等广泛的细胞行为有深远的影响。最近，人们认识到细胞不仅对来自基质的这些提示作出反应，而且还重塑基质，从而影响随后的提示。这种动态的相互作用产生了细胞/基质系统的涌现特性，这两个组成部分随着时间的推移共同进化。这在胚胎发生、发育和肿瘤生长中尤为普遍。力学在决定这种相互作用中的确切作用仍然难以捉摸。参加研讨会的该领域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，以最大限度地提高新的和潜在的高度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.