title: High-resolution micromechanical measurement in real time of forces exerted by living cells.
abstract: The aim of this study was to compare uniaxial traction forces exerted by different cell types using a novel sensor design and to test the dependence of measured forces on cytoskeletal integrity. The sensor design detects forces generated between 2 contact points by cells spanning a gap. The magnitude of these forces varied according to cell type and were dependent on cytoskeletal integrity. The response time for drug-induced cytoskeletal disruption also varied between cell types: dermal fibroblasts exerted the greatest forces and had the slowest drug response times; EBV-transformed epithelial cells also had slow cytoskeletal depolymerisation times but exerted the lowest forces overall. Conversely, lung epithelial tumor cells exerted low forces but had the fastest depolymerisation drug response. These results provide proof of principle for a new design of force-measurement sensor based on optical interferometry, an approach that can be used to study cytoskeletal dynamics in real time.
authors.affiliation: a School of Mechanical and Systems Engineering, Newcastle University , Newcastle upon Tyne , United Kingdom.|b Northern Institute for Cancer Research , Newcastle upon Tyne , United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Swierczewski
authors.affiliation: a School of Mechanical and Systems Engineering, Newcastle University , Newcastle upon Tyne , United Kingdom.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hedley
authors.affiliation: b Northern Institute for Cancer Research , Newcastle upon Tyne , United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Chris P F
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Redfern
mesh_terms: D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002460:Cell Line; D002470:Cell Survival; D003199:Computer Systems; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D013314:Stress, Mechanical
keywords: cell forces; epithelial cells; fibroblasts; interferometry; uniaxial sensor