title: Direct detection of cellular adaptation to local cyclic stretching at the single cell level by atomic force microscopy.
abstract: The cellular response to external mechanical forces has important effects on numerous biological phenomena. The sequences of molecular events that underlie the observed changes in cellular properties have yet to be elucidated in detail. Here we have detected the responses of a cultured cell against locally applied cyclic stretching and compressive forces, after creating an artificial focal adhesion under a glass bead attached to the cantilever of an atomic force microscope. The cell tension initially increased in response to the tensile stress and then decreased within ∼1 min as a result of viscoelastic properties of the cell. This relaxation was followed by a gradual increase in tension extending over several minutes. The slow recovery of tension ceased after several cycles of force application. This tension-recovering activity was inhibited when cells were treated with cytochalasin D, an inhibitor of actin polymerization, or with (-)-blebbistatin, an inhibitor of myosin II ATPase activity, suggesting that the activity was driven by actin-myosin interaction. To our knowledge, this is the first quantitative analysis of cellular mechanical properties during the process of adaptation to locally applied cyclic external force.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama, Japan; Innovation Laboratory, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama, Japan. Electronic address: nakayama.t.ah@m.titech.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Watanabe-Nakayama
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama, Japan; Innovation Laboratory, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama, Japan.
authors.forename: Shin-Ichi
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Machida
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama, Japan.
authors.forename: Ichiro
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Harada
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sekiguchi
authors.affiliation: Innovation Laboratory, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama, Japan; Biofrontier Center, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama, Japan.
authors.forename: Rehana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Afrin
authors.affiliation: Innovation Laboratory, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama, Japan.
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ikai
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D015638:Cytochalasin D / Q000494:pharmacology; D004548:Elasticity / Q000187:drug effects; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects; D006576:Heterocyclic Compounds, 4 or More Rings / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force / Q000379:methods*; D051381:Rats; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D014783:Viscosity / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D006576:Heterocyclic Compounds, 4 or More Rings; C472645:blebbistatin; D015638:Cytochalasin D