Effects of Substrate Thickness and Its Mechanical Constraint on Cell Morphology and Mechanical Property: A finite Element Analysis

The traction forces exerted by cells provide their linking to an elastic substrate and also can effect on their adaptations. Also the considered mechanical constraints and thicknesses for substrate can have main effects in resultants whether in cell modelings or experimental studies. In this work the finite element method was used to simulate the mechanosensing of cell while it has been placed on substrates with various constraints and thicknesses, and then by special definitions quantified cell responses. This modeling demonstrates the cell contraction provides contractile forces that their effects are increased with reducing substrate thickness. Even in special cases it has been observed that contraction of cell may be asymmetric and as a result it is made a shape alteration which the cell tends to have a slender shape. Also the force-displacement relation of substrate surface implies the cell faces to less surface resistant and its contraction makes greater displacement on surface when substrate is thick. Our results demonstrate that changing the substrate constraint has the most effects on cells when the substrate is very thin.