A Stiff Extracellular Matrix Favors the Mechanical Cell Competition that Leads to Extrusion of Bacterially-Infected Epithelial Cells

Aparicio-Yuste, Raúl (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Muenkel, Marie ; Clark, Andrew G. ; Gómez-Benito, María J. (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Bastounis, Effie E.

Resumen: Cell competition refers to the mechanism whereby less fit cells (“losers”) are sensed and eliminated by more fit neighboring cells (“winners”) and arises during many processes including intracellular bacterial infection. Extracellular matrix (ECM) stiffness can regulate important cellular functions, such as motility, by modulating the physical forces that cells transduce and could thus modulate the output of cellular competitions. Herein, we employ a computational model to investigate the previously overlooked role of ECM stiffness in modulating the forceful extrusion of infected “loser” cells by uninfected “winner” cells. We find that increasing ECM stiffness promotes the collective squeezing and subsequent extrusion of infected cells due to differential cell displacements and cellular force generation. Moreover, we discover that an increase in the ratio of uninfected to infected cell stiffness as well as a smaller infection focus size, independently promote squeezing of infected cells, and this phenomenon is more prominent on stiffer compared to softer matrices. Our experimental findings validate the computational predictions by demonstrating increased collective cell extrusion on stiff matrices and glass as opposed to softer matrices, which is associated with decreased bacterial spread in the basal cell monolayer in vitro. Collectively, our results suggest that ECM stiffness plays a major role in modulating the competition between infected and uninfected cells, with stiffer matrices promoting this battle through differential modulation of cell mechanics between the two cell populations.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2022.912318

Año: 2022

Publicado en: Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology 10 (2022), 912318 [20 pp.]
ISSN: 2296-634X

Factor impacto JCR: 5.5 (2022)

Categ. JCR: DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY rank: 5 / 39 = 0.128 (2022) - Q1 - T1
Categ. JCR: CELL BIOLOGY rank: 66 / 191 = 0.346 (2022) - Q2 - T2

Factor impacto CITESCORE: 6.3 - Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (Q2)

Factor impacto SCIMAGO: 1.418 - Developmental Biology (Q1) - Cell Biology (Q2)

Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/101018587/EU/Individual and Collective Migration of the Immune Cellular System/ICoMICS
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MCIU/FPU20-05274
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN/PID2021-124271OB-I00

Tipo y forma: Article (Published version)

Área (Departamento): Área Mec.Med.Cont. y Teor.Est. (Dpto. Ingeniería Mecánica)