Panciera, T., Azzolin, L., Cordenonsi, M. & Piccolo, S. Mechanobiology of YAP and TAZ in physiology and disease. Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell. Biol. 18, 758–770 (2017).

Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Brusatin, G., Panciera, T., Gandin, A., Citron, A. & Piccolo, S. Biomaterials and engineered microenvironments to control YAP/TAZ-dependent cell behaviour. Nat. Mater. 17, 1063–1075 (2018).

Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Zanconato, F., Cordenonsi, M. & Piccolo, S. YAP and TAZ: a signalling hub of the tumour microenvironment. Nat. Rev. Cancer 19, 454–464 (2019).

Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Chen, C. S., Mrksich, M., Huang, S., Whitesides, G. M. & Ingber, D. E. Geometric control of cell life and death. Science 276, 1425–1428 (1997).

Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Nelson, C. M. et al. Emergent patterns of growth controlled by multicellular form and mechanics. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 102, 11594–11599 (2005).

Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Théry, M. Micropatterning as a tool to decipher cell morphogenesis and functions. J. Cell Sci. 123, 4201–4213 (2010).

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Watt, F. M., Jordan, P. W. & Oneill, C. H. Cell shape controls terminal differentiation of human epidermal keratinocytes. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 85, 5576–5580 (1988).

Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

McBeath, R., Pirone, D. M., Nelson, C. M., Bhadriraju, K. & Chen, C. S. Cell shape, cytoskeletal tension, and RhoA regulate stem cell lineage commitment. Dev. Cell 6, 483–495 (2004).

Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Kilian, K. A., Bugarija, B., Lahn, B. T. & Mrksich, M. Geometric cues for directing the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 107, 4872–4877 (2010).

Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

von Erlach, T. C. et al. Cell-geometry-dependent changes in plasma membrane order direct stem cell signalling and fate. Nat. Mater. 17, 237–242 (2018).

Article  Google Scholar 

Mitra, A. et al. Cell geometry dictates TNFα-induced genome response. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 114, E3882–E3891 (2017).

Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Burute, M. et al. Polarity reversal by centrosome repositioning primes cell scattering during epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. Dev. Cell 40, 168–184 (2017).

Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Morgani, S. M., Metzger, J. J., Nichols, J., Siggia, E. D. & Hadjantonakis, A. K. Micropattern differentiation of mouse pluripotent stem cells recapitulates embryo regionalized cell fate patterning. Elife 7, e32839 (2018).

Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Girgin, M. U. et al. Bioengineered embryoids mimic post-implantation development in vitro. Nat. Commun. 12, 5140 (2021).

Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Etoc, F. et al. A balance between secreted inhibitors and edge sensing controls gastruloid self-organization. Dev. Cell 39, 302–315 (2016).

Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Ding, D. Y. et al. Quantitative characterization of tissue states using multiomics and ecological spatial analysis. Nat. Genet. 57, 910–921 (2025).

Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Alom Ruiz, S. & Chen, C. S. Microcontact printing: a tool to pattern. Soft Matter 3, 168–177 (2007).

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Wang, Y. H. et al. Nature-inspired micropatterns. Nat. Rev. Methods Primers 3, 68 (2023).

Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Falconnet, D., Csucs, G., Grandin, H. M. & Textor, M. Surface engineering approaches to micropattern surfaces for cell-based assays. Biomaterials 27, 3044–3063 (2006).

Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Piel, M. T. A. M. Adhesive micropatterns for cells: a microcontact printing protocol. Cold Spring Harb. Protoc. 2009, pdb.prot5255 (2016).

Google Scholar 

Azioune, A., Carpi, N., Tseng, Q., Thery, M. & Piel, M. Protein micropatterns: a direct printing protocol using deep UVs. Methods Cell Biol. 97, 133–146 (2010).

Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Guo, W. H. & Wang, Y. L. Micropatterning cell-substrate adhesions using linear polyacrylamide as the blocking agent. Cold Spring Harb. Protoc. 2011, prot5582 (2011).

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Chang, L. et al. The SWI/SNF complex is a mechanoregulated inhibitor of YAP and TAZ. Nature 563, 265–269 (2018).

Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Dupont, S. et al. Role of YAP/TAZ in mechanotransduction. Nature 474, 179–183 (2011).

Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Sladitschek-Martens, H. L. et al. YAP/TAZ activity in stromal cells prevents ageing by controlling cGAS-STING. Nature 607, 790–798 (2022).

Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Totaro, A. et al. YAP/TAZ link cell mechanics to Notch signalling to control epidermal stem cell fate. Nat. Commun. 8, 15206 (2017).

Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Vanni, G. et al. Microtubule architecture connects AMOT stability to YAP/TAZ mechanotransduction and Hippo signalling. Nat. Cell Biol. 27, 1725–1738 (2025).

Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Aragona, M. et al. A mechanical checkpoint controls multicellular growth through YAP/TAZ regulation by actin-processing factors. Cell 154, 1047–1059 (2013).

Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Oliver-De La Cruz, J. et al. Substrate mechanics controls adipogenesis through YAP phosphorylation by dictating cell spreading. Biomaterials 205, 64–80 (2019).

Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Gandin, A. et al. Broadly applicable hydrogel fabrication procedures guided by YAP/TAZ-activity reveal stiffness, adhesiveness, and nuclear projected area as checkpoints for mechanosensing. Adv. Healthc. Mater. 11, e2102276 (2022).

Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Gandin, A. et al. Timing mechanotransduction: mechanically dynamic biomaterials reveal the temporal hierarchy of YAP/TAZ control nodes. Adv. Sci. https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202515210 (2026).

Kumar, A., Biebuyck, H. A. & Whitesides, G. M. Patterning self-assembled monolayers: applications in materials science. Langmuir 10, 1498–1511 (1994).

Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Perl, A., Reinhoudt, D. N. & Huskens, J. Microcontact printing: limitations and achievements. Adv. Mater. 21, 2257–2268 (2009).

Article