Experimental and computational assessment of F-actin influence in regulating cellular stiffness and relaxation behaviour of fibroblasts

Fallqvist, Björn; Fielden, Matthew L.; Pettersson, Torbjörn; Nordgren, Niklas; Kroon, Martin; Gad, Annica K. B.

doi:10.1016/j.jmbbm.2015.11.039

Cited by 29 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Although a number of studies have indicated that vimentin is important for generation of contractile forces in cells [ 143 , 144 ], a recent study reported that the loss of vimentin increased the generation of contractile stress 3-fold [ 146 ]. Moreover, the viscous responses of cells have been suggested to depend upon vimentin [ 151 ]. In particular, many lines of research indicate that the amount of vimentin correlates with the stiffness of cells ( Table 2 ).…”

Section: Vimentin: Functionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vimentin Diversity in Health and Disease

Danielsson

Peterson

Araújo

et al. 2018

Cells

219

204

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Vimentin is a protein that has been linked to a large variety of pathophysiological conditions, including cataracts, Crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV and cancer. Vimentin has also been shown to regulate a wide spectrum of basic cellular functions. In cells, vimentin assembles into a network of filaments that spans the cytoplasm. It can also be found in smaller, non-filamentous forms that can localise both within cells and within the extracellular microenvironment. The vimentin structure can be altered by subunit exchange, cleavage into different sizes, re-annealing, post-translational modifications and interacting proteins. Together with the observation that different domains of vimentin might have evolved under different selection pressures that defined distinct biological functions for different parts of the protein, the many diverse variants of vimentin might be the cause of its functional diversity. A number of review articles have focussed on the biology and medical aspects of intermediate filament proteins without particular commitment to vimentin, and other reviews have focussed on intermediate filaments in an in vitro context. In contrast, the present review focusses almost exclusively on vimentin, and covers both ex vivo and in vivo data from tissue culture and from living organisms, including a summary of the many phenotypes of vimentin knockout animals. Our aim is to provide a comprehensive overview of the current understanding of the many diverse aspects of vimentin, from biochemical, mechanical, cellular, systems biology and medical perspectives.

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Section: Vimentin: Functionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vimentin Diversity in Health and Disease

Danielsson

Peterson

Araújo

et al. 2018

Cells

219

204

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“…Colloidal probe AFM can then be useful to retrieve the cytoskeleton mechanical properties. Indeed, the role of F‐actins and myosin II motor proteins in the regulation of elastic, viscous, and long‐term mechanical behavior of the cells have been broadly investigated by indentation and relaxation experiments . Colloidal probe AFM is also a useful tool to study the mechanical properties of internal cells compartments.…”

Section: Particles As a Tool To Study Cells Mechanicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nanoparticle–Cell Interaction: A Cell Mechanics Perspective

et al. 2018

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Progress in the field of nanoparticles has enabled the rapid development of multiple products and technologies; however, some nanoparticles can pose both a threat to the environment and human health. To enable their safe implementation, a comprehensive knowledge of nanoparticles and their biological interactions is needed. In vitro and in vivo toxicity tests have been considered the gold standard to evaluate nanoparticle safety, but it is becoming necessary to understand the impact of nanosystems on cell mechanics. Here, the interaction between particles and cells, from the point of view of cell mechanics (i.e., bionanomechanics), is highlighted and put in perspective. Specifically, the ability of intracellular and extracellular nanoparticles to impair cell adhesion, cytoskeletal organization, stiffness, and migration are discussed. Furthermore, the development of cutting-edge, nanotechnology-driven tools based on the use of particles allowing the determination of cell mechanics is emphasized. These include traction force microscopy, colloidal probe atomic force microscopy, optical tweezers, magnetic manipulation, and particle tracking microrheology.

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“…S2) may partially explain the concomitant increase observed in the slow viscoelastic time constant. Furthermore, a recent study of fibroblasts, which also employed a two-time-constant relaxation model, found that the actin network governs relaxation behavior over shorter timescales, whereas the intermediate filament network dictates long-term relaxation (46 (39,40), further emphasizing a potential relationship between the intermediate filament structure and cellular mechanical properties.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cellular Stiffness as a Novel Stemness Marker in the Corneal Limbus

Bongiorno

Chojnowski

Lauderdale

et al. 2016

Biophysical Journal

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Healthy eyes contain a population of limbal stem cells (LSCs) that continuously renew the corneal epithelium. However, each year, 1 million Americans are afflicted with severely reduced visual acuity caused by corneal damage or disease, including LSC deficiency (LSCD). Recent advances in corneal transplant technology promise to repair the cornea by implanting healthy LSCs to encourage regeneration; however, success is limited to transplanted tissues that contain a sufficiently high percentage of LSCs. Attempts to screen limbal tissues for suitable implants using molecular stemness markers are confounded by the poorly understood signature of the LSC phenotype. For cells derived from the corneal limbus, we show that the performance of cell stiffness as a stemness indicator is on par with the performance of DNP63a, a common molecular marker. In combination with recent methods for sorting cells on a biophysical basis, the biomechanical stemness markers presented here may enable the rapid purification of LSCs from a heterogeneous population of corneal cells, thus potentially enabling clinicians and researchers to generate corneal transplants with sufficiently high fractions of LSCs, regardless of the LSC percentage in the donor tissue.

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Experimental and computational assessment of F-actin influence in regulating cellular stiffness and relaxation behaviour of fibroblasts

Cited by 29 publications

References 49 publications

Vimentin Diversity in Health and Disease

Vimentin Diversity in Health and Disease

Nanoparticle–Cell Interaction: A Cell Mechanics Perspective

Cellular Stiffness as a Novel Stemness Marker in the Corneal Limbus

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