Fig. 5.

Clarifications and evidences on how hydrogel viscoelasticity regulated cell biology. a Schematic image of the interaction between cells and elastic/viscoelastic hydrogel via activating Rho and Rac1 signaling pathways. Reproduced with permission.¹⁴ Copyright 2015, Springer nature. b A case depicting how hydrogel with fast stress relaxation promoted stem cell spreading and β1 expression and led to integrin clustering. Reproduced with permission.²⁷ Copyright 2015, Springer nature. c Protease-independent invasion way in cancer cells when cultured in viscoelastic hydrogels with slow, immediate, and fast relaxation rates, and d schematic on the migration mode of cancer cells via progressively widening surrounding hydrogel matrix with invadopodia rather than proteases. Reproduced with permission.²⁴⁰ Copyright 2018, Springer nature