Mechanical Clustering of Cells via the ExtraCellular Matrix
Abstract
Tissues are composites of living cells and extracellular matrix (ECM), that jointly determine their unique mechanical behavior. Here, we experimentally demonstrate that contractile cells remodel the ECM by generating long-range bands of aligned and densified fibers that mechanically couple cells into multicellular clusters. Using a finite-element model, we quantify the collective mechanical interactions mediated by these ECM bands for various volume fractions of cells. The model incorporates contractile particles that mimic cell-active forces within a nonlinear biological gel, inducing stiffening internally rather than through external loading. We find that even a small volume fraction of contractile particles (approximately 10%), much below what is expected for percolation of sphere contacts, leads to internal stiffening, mediated by the high-concentrated stress bands between cells and is strongly dependent on the nonlinear mechanical response of the ECM. Percolation analysis of the band network reveals sharp transitions at a critical particle volume fraction, that aligns with the onset of internal stiffening. These results demonstrate that long-range interaction between contractile cells through the deformation of the medium has the potential to globally shape the structure and mechanics of the bulk gel, leading to a functional structure with modified properties. These modified macroscopic changes can define organizing principles in tissue patterning and morphogenesis.
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BibTeX
@misc{glinowiecki2026mechanical,
title = {{Mechanical Clustering of Cells via the ExtraCellular Matrix}},
author = {Ran Glinowiecki and Shahar Goren and Oren Tchaicheeyan and Bar Ergaz and Robin L. B. Selinger and Yair Shokef and Ayelet Lesman},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.31860},
eprint = {2609.31860},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.31860},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Mechanical Clustering of Cells via the ExtraCellular Matrix
AU - Ran Glinowiecki
AU - Shahar Goren
AU - Oren Tchaicheeyan
AU - Bar Ergaz
AU - Robin L. B. Selinger
AU - Yair Shokef
AU - Ayelet Lesman
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/25
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.31860
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.31860
AB - Tissues are composites of living cells and extracellular matrix (ECM), that jointly determine their unique mechanical behavior. Here, we experimentally demonstrate that contractile cells remodel the ECM by generating long-range bands of aligned and densified fibers that mechanically couple cells into multicellular clusters. Using a finite-element model, we quantify the collective mechanical interactions mediated by these ECM bands for various volume fractions of cells. The model incorporates contractile particles that mimic cell-active forces within a nonlinear biological gel, inducing stiffening internally rather than through external loading. We find that even a small volume fraction of contractile particles (approximately 10%), much below what is expected for percolation of sphere contacts, leads to internal stiffening, mediated by the high-concentrated stress bands between cells and is strongly dependent on the nonlinear mechanical response of the ECM. Percolation analysis of the band network reveals sharp transitions at a critical particle volume fraction, that aligns with the onset of internal stiffening. These results demonstrate that long-range interaction between contractile cells through the deformation of the medium has the potential to globally shape the structure and mechanics of the bulk gel, leading to a functional structure with modified properties. These modified macroscopic changes can define organizing principles in tissue patterning and morphogenesis.
ER -