Investigating cell mechanics with atomic force microscopy.
Kristina Haase,Andrew E. Pelling +1 more
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TLDR
This review generally describes the mechanotransductive process through discussion of well-known mechanosensors, and focuses on discussion of recent examples where AFM is used to specifically probe the elastic and inelastic responses of single cells undergoing deformation.Abstract:
Transmission of mechanical force is crucial for normal cell development and functioning. However, the process of mechanotransduction cannot be studied in isolation from cell mechanics. Thus, in order to understand how cells ‘feel’, we must first understand how they deform and recover from physical perturbations. Owing to its versatility, atomic force microscopy (AFM) has become a popular tool to study intrinsic cellular mechanical properties. Used to directly manipulate and examine whole and subcellular reactions, AFM allows for top-down and reconstitutive approaches to mechanical characterization. These studies show that the responses of cells and their components are complex, and largely depend on the magnitude and time scale of loading. In this review, we generally describe the mechanotransductive process through discussion of well-known mechanosensors. We then focus on discussion of recent examples where AFM is used to specifically probe the elastic and inelastic responses of single cells undergoing deformation. We present a brief overview of classical and current models often used to characterize observed cellular phenomena in response to force. Both simple mechanistic models and complex nonlinear models have been used to describe the observed cellular behaviours, however a unifying description of cell mechanics has not yet been resolved.read more
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Are cancer cells really softer than normal cells
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References
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Catherine D. Nobes,Alan Hall +1 more
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TL;DR: In this article, a solution of the axisymmetric Boussinesq problem is derived from which are deduced simple formulae for the depth of penetration of the tip of a punch of arbitrary profile and for the total load which must be applied to the punch to achieve this penetration.
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Stefanie Dimmeler,Ingrid Fleming,Beate Fisslthaler,Corinna Hermann,Rudi Busse,Andreas M. Zeiher +5 more
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that the serine/threonine protein kinase Akt/PKB mediates the activation of eNOS, leading to increased NO production, and represents a novel Ca2+-independent regulatory mechanism for activation ofeNOS.