  We present a continuum model of the coupling between cells and substrate that
accounts for some of the observed substrate-stiffness dependence of cell
properties. The cell is modeled as an elastic active gel, adapting recently
developed continuum theories of active viscoelastic fluids. The coupling to the
substrate enters as a boundary condition that relates the cell's deformation
field to local stress gradients. In the presence of activity, the coupling to
the substrate yields spatially inhomogeneous contractile stresses and
deformations in the cell and can enhance polarization, breaking the cell's
front-rear symmetry.
