title: Probing Synaptic Biomechanics Using Micropillar Arrays.
abstract: Recent insights into the importance of mechanosensing and force transmission at the immune synapse have spurred increased interest in the mechanical properties of leukocyte cell-cell interactions. In this chapter, we describe an imaging-based strategy for measuring cellular forces that utilizes optically transparent arrays of flexible micropillars. This approach has several distinct advantages over standard traction force microscopy, and we anticipate that it will prove very useful for investigators who wish not only to quantify ligand-induced forces with high spatiotemporal resolution but also to place those forces within the context of a broader cell biological response.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA.
authors.forename: Weiyang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, 11973, USA.
authors.forename: Charles T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Black
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA.
authors.forename: Lance C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Kam
authors.affiliation: Immunology Program, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 1275 York Ave, NY, 10065, USA. husem@mskcc.org.
authors.forename: Morgan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Huse
mesh_terms: D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D054992:Immunological Synapses / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology; D046228:Microarray Analysis / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D008853:Microscopy / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods
keywords: Cytoskeleton; Mechanobiology; Micropillar; Polydimethylsiloxane; Signal transduction; Silicon etching; T cell; Traction force microscopy