The sudden jump from low to high tractions could act like a switch to trigger tissue spreading, e.g. through the active wetting transition (see below), in processes such as embryo implantation, wound healing, and tumor invasion.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
An analogy with wetting has proven apt for describing how groups of cells spread on a substrate. But cells are active: they polarize, generate forces and adhere to their surroundings. Experiments now ...
We show that this traction-stiffness feedback can lead to traction bistability and hysteresis. For example, increasing ECM stiffness can trigger a discontinuous transition from low to high tractions.
