Mast cells (MCs) play important roles in multiple pathologies, including fibrosis; however, their behaviors in different extracellular matrix (ECM) environments have not been fully elucidated. Accordingly, in this study, the migration of MCs on substrates with different stiffnesses was investigated using time-lapse video microscopy. Our results showed that MCs could appear in round, spindle, and star-like shapes; spindle-shaped cells accounted for 80–90 % of the total observed cells. The migration speed of round cells was significantly lower than that of cells with other shapes. Interestingly, spindle-shaped MCs migrated in a jiggling and wiggling motion between protrusions. The persistence index of MC migration was slightly higher on stiffer substrates. Moreover, we found that there was an intermediate optimal stiffness at which the migration efficiency was the highest. These findings may help to improve our understanding of MC-induced pathologies and the roles of MC migration in the immune system.

肥大细胞 (MC) 在包括纤维化在内的多种病理中发挥重要作用；然而，它们在不同细胞外基质 (ECM) 环境中的行为尚未完全阐明。因此，在本研究中，使用延时视频显微镜研究了 MC 在具有不同刚度的基板上的迁移。我们的结果表明，MCs 可以出现圆形、纺锤形和星形；梭形细胞占观察到的细胞总数的 80-90%。圆形细胞的迁移速度明显低于其他形状的细胞。有趣的是，纺锤形 MC 在突起之间以一种摇晃和摆动的方式迁移。MC 迁移的持久性指数在较硬的基材上略高。而且，我们发现存在迁移效率最高的中间最佳刚度。这些发现可能有助于提高我们对 MC 诱导的病理学和 MC 迁移在免疫系统中的作用的理解。