In cellular biology, durotaxis is a form of cell migration in which cells are guided by rigidity gradients, which arise from differential structural properties of the extracellular matrix (ECM). Most normal cells migrate up rigidity gradients (in the direction of greater stiffness).

Nov 16, 2023 · Durotaxis is the tendency of cells to migrate toward stiffer areas, while negative durotaxis occurs when cells migrate toward regions with lower stiffness.

In this article, we provide a state‐of‐the‐art overview of durotaxis, which can be defined as thedirected motion or growth of cells based on variations in the stiffness oftheir extracellular matrix.

May 4, 2020 · Durotaxis is emerging as a robust mechanism to drive directed migration of single cells and clusters. However, we remain far from having a comprehensive understanding of underlying mechanisms. Key components include cell–ECM adhesion through molecular clutches and long-range force transmission across the cytoskeleton and cell–cell junctions.

May 21, 2021 · We also present insights on the general mechanisms by which cells sense, transduce and respond to environmental mechanics, to then contextualize these mechanisms in the process of durotaxis and explain how cells bias their migration in anisotropic substrates.

Apr 22, 2024 · Types of durotaxis. On stiffness gradients, single cells can exhibit either positive durotaxis (moving towards stiffer substrate), negative durotaxis (moving towards softer substrate), or adurotaxis (unbiased migration between soft and stiff substrates).

Durotaxis, the process by which cells follow gradients of extracellular mechanical stiffness, has been proposed as a mechanism driving directed migration. Despite the lack of evidence for its existence in vivo, durotaxis has become an active field of research, focusing on the mechanism by which cells respond to me-

Jan 25, 2021 · Durotaxis is the process by which cell movements are coordinated by environmental stiffness gradients. In this review, Shellard and Mayor describe recent advances in our understanding of durotaxis in vitro and the challenges to study it in vivo.

Dec 8, 2021 · Durotaxis synergizes with chemotaxis, cooperatively polarizing actomyosin machinery of the cell group to prompt efficient directional collective cell migration in vivo.

Apr 15, 2024 · Recently, experimental evidence has supported this notion and demonstrated the ability of cells to migrate towards lower rigidity, in a process called negative durotaxis. In this Review, we discuss the significant conceptual advances that have been made in our appreciation of cell plasticity and context dependency in stiffness-guided ...