cellodriven

Cellodriven is a term used in biology and bioengineering to describe processes, materials, or systems in which cellular activity directly governs their behavior, structure, or evolution. In cellodriven contexts, cells generate forces, remodel the surrounding extracellular matrix, migrate, differentiate, and secrete biochemical signals that influence the trajectory of the system, rather than being controlled primarily by external actuators or stimuli.

The term is used across mechanobiology, tissue engineering, and living materials, including 3D culture systems, hydrogels, and organoids. It encompasses cell-generated traction that deforms substrates, cell-mediated matrix remodeling that changes stiffness and architecture, and self-organization driven by cell–cell communication and collective migration.

Methods to study cellodriven phenomena include traction force microscopy, 3D imaging of matrix deformations, live-cell fluorescence for signaling, assays of matrix remodeling, rheology of biomaterials, and computational models of active matter.

Applications range from biomaterial design that uses cell activity for self-healing or assembly, to tissue engineering and regenerative medicine where cells drive morphogenesis, to cancer mechanobiology and developmental biology, where cellular forces and remodeling govern invasion and organ formation.

See also: mechanobiology; living materials; cell–ECM interactions; active matter.