The ECM is composed of two main classes of macromolecules: proteoglycans (PGs) and fibrous proteins (see Boxes 1 and 2) (Jarvelainen et al., 2009; Schaefer and Schaefer, 2010). The main fibrous ECM proteins are collagens, elastins, fibronectins and laminins (see panel 1 of the poster) (Alberts et al., 2007). PGs fill the majority of the extracellular interstitial space within the tissue in the form of a hydrated gel (Box 1) (for details, see Jarvelainen et al., 2009). PGs have a wide variety of functions that reflect their unique buffering, hydration, binding and force-resistance properties. For example, in the kidney glomerular BM, perlecan has a role in glomerular filtration (Harvey and Miner, 2008; Morita et al., 2005). By constrast, in ductal epithelial tissues, decorin, biglycan and lumican associate with collagen fibers to generate a molecular structure within the ECM that is essential for mechanical buffering and hydration and that, by binding GFs, provides an easy, enzymatically accessible repository for these factors (Iozzo and Murdoch, 1996).

The local microenvironment, or niche, of a cancer cell plays important roles in cancer development. A major component of the niche is the extracellular matrix (ECM), a complex network of macromolecules with distinctive physical, biochemical, and biomechanical properties. Although tightly controlled during embryonic development and organ homeostasis, the ECM is commonly deregulated and becomes disorganized in diseases such as cancer. Abnormal ECM affects cancer progression by directly promoting cellular transformation and metastasis. Importantly, however, ECM anomalies also deregulate behavior of stromal cells, facilitate tumor-associated angiogenesis and inflammation, and thus lead to generation of a tumorigenic microenvironment. Understanding how ECM composition and topography are maintained and how their deregulation influences cancer progression may help develop new therapeutic interventions by targeting the tumor niche.

The morphology and cytoskeletal structure of fibroblasts, endothelial cells, and neutrophils are documented for cells cultured on surfaces with stiffness ranging from 2 to 55,000 Pa that have been laminated with fibronectin or collagen as adhesive ligand. When grown in sparse culture with no cell‐cell contacts, fibroblasts and endothelial cells show an abrupt change in spread area that occurs at a stiffness range around 3,000 Pa. No actin stress fibers are seen in fibroblasts on soft surfaces, and the appearance of stress fibers is abrupt and complete at a stiffness range coincident with that at which they spread. Upregulation of α5 integrin also occurs in the same stiffness range, but exogenous expression of α5 integrin is not sufficient to cause cell spreading on soft surfaces. Neutrophils, in contrast, show no dependence of either resting shape or ability to spread after activation when cultured on surfaces as soft as 2 Pa compared to glass. The shape and cytoskeletal differences evident in single cells on soft compared to hard substrates are eliminated when fibroblasts or endothelial cells make cell‐cell contact. These results support the hypothesis that mechanical factors impact different cell types in fundamentally different ways, and can trigger specific changes similar to those stimulated by soluble ligands. Cell Motil. Cytoskeleton 60:24–34, 2005.