High-resolution probing of cellular force transmission
Mizuno, D, Bacabac, R, Tardin, C et al. (2 more authors)
(2009)
High-resolution probing of cellular force transmission.
Physical Review Letters, 102 (16).
ISSN 0031-9007
Abstract
Cells actively probe mechanical properties of their environment by exerting internally generated forces. The response they encounter profoundly affects their behavior. Here we measure in a simple geometry the forces a cell exerts suspended by two optical traps. Our assay quantifies both the overall force and the fraction of that force transmitted to the environment. Mimicking environments of varying stiffness by adjusting the strength of the traps, we found that the force transmission is highly dependent on external compliance. This suggests a calibration mechanism for cellular mechanosensing.
Metadata
Authors/Creators:
Mizuno, D
Bacabac, R
Tardin, C
Head, D
Schmidt, CF
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information:
(c) 2009, The American Physical Society. This is an author produced version of a paper published in Physical Review Letters. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy.
Keywords:
Cellular force; Force transmission; High resolution; Mechanosensing; Optical trap; Simple geometries; Varying stiffness
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