Fig. 9.

a Cells actively permanently remodel their surrounding by reorganizing the network and establishing new cross-links. This way, cell-mediated tension can be entrenched in the network. b When removing active cellular forces suddenly, the matrix tension quickly drops. However, if cells have entrenched their reorganization of the network structure by permanent (covalent) cross-links (i.e., with $k_{\mathit{off}}^{f-f}=0.0$), a residual tension persists in the network. By setting transient cross-links with a sufficiently low off-rate, the cells can ensure an RMT at least over the periods considered