When cyclically stretched, cells on stiff substrates reduce spread area whereas cells on soft substrates increase spread area: Area (A) and perimeter (B) of VICs cultured on low (0.3 kPa) and high (50 kPa) stiffness gels subjected to 10% cyclic stretch at 1 Hz for 6 hours (grey bars) or static (black bars) culture.
<p>Shape factor (C) quantifies how rounded a cell is (a shape factor of 1 is perfectly circular, whereas a shape factor of 0 is extremely spread with many extensions). Cells of low and high shape factor are shown in C. Brackets above bars show significance between individual groups (two-way ANOVA, p<0.05).</p
