Dissecting the Dynamic Evolution of Tensional Homeostasis in Fibroblasts using an Integrated Biomechanical Bioreactor Platform

ABSTRACT Mechanical homeostasis indicates the remarkable ability displayed by cells in tissues to maintain their mechanical properties near a stable homeostatic set-point. Experimental investigations and theoretical studies indicate that mechanical stress represents a key homeostatic target that stromal cells, such as fibroblasts, seek to maintain by tuning the intracellular structure and by remodeling the extracellular matrix. Much of what is known about mechanical homeostasis of tissues under tension, or tensional homeostasis, is based on experiments on tissue equivalents, that is fibroblast-populated collagen gels. However, existing platforms used to investigate tensional homeostasis cannot infer mechanical stress dynamically. Here we developed an integrated biomechanical bioreactor combining force sensing with confocal and multiphoton microscopy to dissect the mechanobiological mechanisms of tensional homeostasis. We used our platform to test the hypothesis that fibroblasts maintain a constant state of stress across varying collagen concentrations. Contrary to this assumption, synchronized force and imaging measurements revealed that stress is not constant but rather elevated at low collagen concentrations, where fibroblast contraction drives earlier collagen alignment and greater tissue compaction. Conversely, force generation and α-SMA expression increase with increasing collagen concentration, accompanied by modest transcriptional changes. However, at the highest collagen concentration, this homeostatic balance is disrupted, with lower force generation and α-SMA expression, as gene expression shifts toward VEGFC-mediated autocrine survival signaling. These findings demonstrate that tensional homeostasis emerges from a dynamic balance between cellular contractility and extracellular matrix densification rather than stress maintenance while revealing that excessive matrix density disrupts this balance by triggering a pro-survival response.