title: Single cell mechanics: stress stiffening and kinematic hardening.
abstract: Cell mechanical properties are fundamental to the organism but remain poorly understood. We report a comprehensive phenomenological framework for the complex rheology of single fibroblast cells: a superposition of elastic stiffening and viscoplastic kinematic hardening. Despite the complexity of the living cell, its mechanical properties can be cast into simple, well-defined rules. Our results reveal the key role of crosslink slippage in determining mechanical cell strength and robustness.
authors.affiliation: Experimentalphysik I, Physikalisches Institut, Universität Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany.
authors.forename: Pablo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fernández
authors.forename: Albrecht
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ott
mesh_terms: D016475:3T3 Cells; D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D048429:Cell Size; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000502:physiology; D004548:Elasticity; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology*; D051379:Mice; D008954:Models, Biological; D012212:Rheology; D014783:Viscosity