Computational Tension Mapping of Adherent Cells Based on Actin Imaging

Area of Science:

• Cell Biology
• Biophysics
• Computational Biology

Background:

• Intracellular forces are crucial for adherent cell functions.
• Quantifying these forces within the cytoskeleton remains challenging.
• Existing methods lack the resolution to map internal cellular mechanical forces.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a computational model for mapping intracellular forces in adherent cells.
• To visualize and quantify tension forces within the actin network.
• To investigate the mechanical interplay of cytoskeletal components.

Main Methods:

• Reconstruction of the cell's cytoskeleton from fluorescence microscopy images of actin and focal adhesions.
• Development of a custom algorithm to convert 2D actin images into a map of contractile interactions.
• Modeling heterogeneous interactions based on actin density and adapting contractility to match experimentally estimated forces on focal adhesions.

Main Results:

• Successfully computed consistent mechanical forces transiting throughout the cell.
• Enabled calculation of tension forces across the entire cell, specific regions, or individual stress fibers.
• Identified an inverse relationship between intra/extracellular compression ratio and intracellular tension.

Conclusions:

• The developed model provides a novel approach to quantify intracellular forces.
• The model allows for the study of mechanical roles of various cytoskeletal elements.
• This method offers new avenues for understanding cell mechanics and mechanotransduction.