Quantifying the contribution of actin networks to the elastic strength of fibroblasts

Ananthakrishnan, Revathi; Guck, Jochen; Wottawah, Falk; Schinkinger, Stefan; Lincoln, Bryan; Romeyke, Maren; Moon, Tessie J; Käs, Josef A.

doi:10.1016/j.jtbi.2006.03.021

Cited by 90 publications

(73 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…The viscoelastic properties vary along a given cell although the submembranous actin cortex appears to be rather homogenously distributed throughout cells (17). The actin cytoskeleton is a key contributor to the mechanical properties of many cells such as fibroblasts, epithelial cells, and neutrophils (18)(19)(20). There was no significant difference in stiffness between inner and outer processes (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Viscoelastic properties of individual glial cells and neurons in the CNS

Franze

Seifert

et al. 2006

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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One hundred fifty years ago glial cells were discovered as a second, non-neuronal, cell type in the central nervous system. To ascribe a function to these new, enigmatic cells, it was suggested that they either glue the neurons together (the Greek word ''␥␣'' means ''glue'') or provide a robust scaffold for them (''support cells''). Although both speculations are still widely accepted, they would actually require quite different mechanical cell properties, and neither one has ever been confirmed experimentally. We investigated the biomechanics of CNS tissue and acutely isolated individual neurons and glial cells from mammalian brain (hippocampus) and retina. Scanning force microscopy, bulk rheology, and optically induced deformation were used to determine their viscoelastic characteristics. We found that (i) in all CNS cells the elastic behavior dominates over the viscous behavior, (ii) in distinct cell compartments, such as soma and cell processes, the mechanical properties differ, most likely because of the unequal local distribution of cell organelles, (iii) in comparison to most other eukaryotic cells, both neurons and glial cells are very soft (''rubber elastic''), and (iv) intriguingly, glial cells are even softer than their neighboring neurons. Our results indicate that glial cells can neither serve as structural support cells (as they are too soft) nor as glue (because restoring forces are dominant) for neurons. Nevertheless, from a structural perspective they might act as soft, compliant embedding for neurons, protecting them in case of mechanical trauma, and also as a soft substrate required for neurite growth and facilitating neuronal plasticity.biomechanics ͉ elasticity ͉ viscosity ͉ retina ͉ hippocampus

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Viscoelastic properties of individual glial cells and neurons in the CNS

Franze

Seifert

et al. 2006

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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494

438

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“…Elastic deformability of cells is regulated by the actin cytoskeleton (23). Visualization of the subcortical actin network in APL cells by electron microscopy revealed that the mesh size of the actin cytoskeleton, which is inversely related to the elastic shear modulus of biopolymer networks (24), is increased during differentiation ( Fig.…”

Section: Remodeling Of the Actin Filament Network During Differentiatmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…1 A). The geometric factor F G accounts for different sizes or refractive indices of cells to be compared (23). The sizes (2R APL ϭ 18.1 Ϯ 1.1 m, 2R neutrophils ϭ 11.11 Ϯ 0.24 m, 2R APLϩATRA ϭ 18.7 Ϯ 1.3 m), where statistics follow the pattern of mean Ϯ SEM at all points in the text, were directly available from image analysis.…”

Section: Deformability Measurements Of Nucleated Blood Cells With Thementioning

confidence: 99%

“…From the power applied, the refractive indices measured, the known laser beam parameters, and the size of the cell in the trap, the stress magnitude, o, and distribution was calculated as described elsewhere (22). Details of the stress distribution were used to determine the geometric factor F Gas described in Ananthakrishnan et al (23). The relative deformation of the cells was then normalized by the stress magnitude and the geometric factor to result in the creep compliance, or deformability, D(t) of each cell.…”

Section: Microfluidic Optical Stretcher ( Os) Setup and Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The regulatory role of cell mechanics for migration of differentiating myeloid cells

Lautenschläger

Paschke²,

Schinkinger³

et al. 2009

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Migration of cells is important for tissue maintenance, immune response, and often altered in disease. While biochemical aspects, including cell adhesion, have been studied in detail, much less is known about the role of the mechanical properties of cells. Previous measurement methods rely on contact with artificial surfaces, which can convolute the results. Here, we used a non-contact, microfluidic optical stretcher to study cell mechanics, isolated from other parameters, in the context of tissue infiltration by acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) cells, which occurs during differentiation therapy with retinoic acid. Compliance measurements of APL cells reveal a significant softening during differentiation, with the mechanical properties of differentiated cells resembling those of normal neutrophils. To interfere with the migratory ability acquired with the softening, differentiated APL cells were exposed to paclitaxel, which stabilizes microtubules. This treatment does not alter compliance but reduces cell relaxation after cessation of mechanical stress six-fold, congruent with a significant reduction of motility. Our observations imply that the dynamical remodeling of cell shape required for tissue infiltration can be frustrated by stiffening the microtubular system. This link between the cytokeleton, cell mechanics, and motility suggests treatment options for pathologies relying on migration of cells, notably cancer metastasis.acute promyelocytic leukemia ͉ cytoskeleton ͉ microtubules ͉ optical stretcher ͉ paclitaxel

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“…Large strains (>10% deformation) however, can damage cells and should be avoided when cell isolation and viability post-analysis are of interest. Lower strain (<10% deformation) methods including optical stretchers (7,32) can apply non-destructive, non-contact forces sufficient to differentiate cell states (9,33,34). Optical stretching relies on the changing momentum of laser light by refraction at the surface of a soft dielectric object, generating non-contact optical forces (35).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High‐throughput linear optical stretcher for mechanical characterization of blood cells

et al. 2015

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This study describes a linear optical stretcher as a high-throughput mechanical property cytometer. Custom, inexpensive, and scalable optics image a linear diode bar source into a microfluidic channel, where cells are hydrodynamically focused into the optical stretcher. Upon entering the stretching region, antipodal optical forces generated by the refraction of tightly focused laser light at the cell membrane deform each cell in flow. Each cell relaxes as it flows out of the trap and is compared to the stretched state to determine deformation. The deformation response of untreated red blood cells and neutrophils were compared to chemically treated cells. Statistically significant differences were observed between normal, diamide-treated, and glutaraldehyde-treated red blood cells, as well as between normal and cytochalasin D-treated neutrophils. Based on the behavior of the pure, untreated populations of red cells and neutrophils, a mixed population of these cells was tested and the discrete populations were identified by deformability. V C 2015 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry

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Quantifying the contribution of actin networks to the elastic strength of fibroblasts

Cited by 90 publications

References 34 publications

Viscoelastic properties of individual glial cells and neurons in the CNS

Viscoelastic properties of individual glial cells and neurons in the CNS

The regulatory role of cell mechanics for migration of differentiating myeloid cells

High‐throughput linear optical stretcher for mechanical characterization of blood cells

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