Dr. Britta Trappmann
"No positions via CiM-IMPRS in 2024"
Mechanotransduction by engineered extracellular matrices
Biophysics
Cell Biology / Molecular Biology
Vascular Biology / Angiogenesis
Cell fate decisions are influenced by many cues, which together constitute the cell microenvironment. One critical regulator is the extracellular matrix (ECM), which varies not only in composition, but also in physical properties such as stiffness. The impact of matrix stiffness on cells has been studied intensively on 2D surfaces using synthetic hydrogels, but very little is known about stiffness sensing within 3D matrices.
We have developed a sugar-based hydrogel system that offers independent control over mechanical properties, adhesive ligand density and matrix degradation rates. Using this system, we study the role of matrix properties in 3D stem cell differentiation and angiogenic sprouting.
Vita
- 2002 - 2007: Studies in Chemistry, University of Dortmund, Germany
- 2007 - 2011: PhD, Department of Chemistry and Wellcome Trust Centre for Stem Cell Research, University of Cambridge, UK
- 2012 - 2016: Postdoc with Christopher S. Chen, Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, USA and Harvard Wyss Institute, Boston, USA
- Since 2016: Max Planck Research Group Leader, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine, Münster, Germany
Selected references
Govindasamy N, Long H, Jeong HW, Raman R, Özcifci B, Probst S, Arnold S, Riehemann K, Ranga A, Adams RH, Trappmann B, Bedzhov I. (2021). 3D biomimetic platform reveals the first interactions of the embryo and the maternal blood vessels. Dev Cell 56(23):3276-87.
Liu J, Long H, Zeuschner D, Räder AFB, Polacheck WJ, Kessler H, Sorokin L, Trappmann B. (2021). Synthetic extracellular matrices with tailored adhesiveness and degradability support lumen formation during angiogenic sprouting. Nat Commun 12(1):3402.
Trappmann B, Baker BM, Polacheck WJ, Choi CK, Burdick JA, Chen CS. (2017). Matrix degradability controls multicellularity of 3D cell migration. Nat Commun 8(1):371.
Baker BM, Trappmann B, Wang WY, Sakar MS, Kim IL, Shenoy VB, Burdick JA, Chen CS. (2015). Cell-mediated fiber recruitment drives extracellular matrix mechanosensing in engineered fibrillar microenvironments. Nat Mater 14(12):1262-8.
Trappmann B, Gautrot JE, Connelly JT, Strange DGT, Li Y, Oyen ML, Cohen Stuart MA, Boehm H, Li B, Vogel V, Spatz JP, Watt FM, Huck WTS. (2012). Extracellular-matrix tethering regulates stem-cell fate. Nat Mater 11(8):642-9.
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