Figure 4.

(A) Volcano plot of log2 ratio versus p value compares genes expressed by cells grown on TCP and S527 under the Ca- treatment condition. Although ∼96% of tested genes show similar expression, SERPINE1 and TIMP3 were found to be significantly downregulated by the softer substrate. These genes are both related to wound healing and cell-extracellular matrix adhesion. Bar charts for SERPINE1 (B) and TIMP3 (C), using data from Figs. 1C and 3A, provide a visual comparison of relative expression across conditions. These illustrate that Ca- treatment exacerbates the difference in gene expression derived from the substrate stiffness effect. For (A), n = 6. ^∗p ≤ 0.05, ^∗∗p ≤ 0.01.