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Patterning, prestress, and peeling dynamics of myocytes
Maureen A Griffin1, Adam J Engler, Thomas A Barber
1Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Institute for Medicine and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Biophysical Journal
|January 30, 2004
Summary
Skeletal muscle cells develop internal stress, causing them to peel from surfaces when detached. Researchers measured this cell adhesion strength using fluid shear stress, revealing dynamic and heterogeneous cell peeling behaviors.
Area of Science:
- Cellular mechanics
- Biophysics
- Muscle physiology
Background:
- Myocytes, as anchorage-dependent cells, require a balance between contractility and adhesion.
- Isolated skeletal myotubes on micropatterned surfaces show spontaneous peeling, indicating internal cell prestress.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify the prestress in myocytes.
- To investigate the dynamic adhesion strength of single myocytes.
- To develop methods for studying real-time adhesion dynamics in muscle cells.
Main Methods:
- Mechanical detachment of one end of isolated myotube strips.
- Forcible peeling of myotubes using fluid shear stress from a micropipette.
- Measurement of cell peeling velocity (V(peel)) as a function of applied tension (T(peel)).
- Observation of focal adhesion dynamics in smooth muscle cells using GFP-paxillin.
Main Results:
- Myotube peeling velocity increased with applied tension, ranging from 0 to 50 nN/µm.
- Cell peeling was heterogeneous, with velocity fluctuating significantly over time.
- Smooth muscle cells showed discontinuous peeling and focal adhesion fracturing under pressure.
Conclusions:
- The study quantifies cell prestress and dynamic adhesion strength in myocytes.
- Developed peeling methods offer insights into the contractile-adhesion balance in muscle cells.
- These techniques can be applied to compare normal and dystrophic muscle cell adhesion.