Figure 2. Effect of matrix stiffness on brain tumor cell proliferation and invasion over time.

Patient-derived brain tumor cell cultures (PDCs) formed larger, more invasive cell aggregates in 40 Pa hydrogels after 21 days in culture. In contrast, U87 cell aggregate formation was more robust in 1000 Pa hydrogels. All images are brightfield images. Dark areas are dense cell aggregates. Scale bar = 500 μm.