Sharon (Huan) Wang shows that valvular interstitial cells will return to a quiescent phenotype after reducing the modulus of the substrate on which they are plated using the nitrobenzyl photochemistry the Anseth group brought into hydrogels. The figure shows the reduction in alpha smooth muscule actin (green) in gels that have been softened.
H. Wang, S.M. Haeger, A.M. Kloxin, L.A. Leinwand, and K.S. Anseth, "Redirecting Valvular Myofibroblasts into Dormant Fibroblasts through Light-Mediated Reduction in Substrate Modulus," PLoS ONE, 7 (7), e39969 (2012).