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Mechanical Protein Functions

Mechanical Protein Functions

Proteins perform many mechanical functions in a cell. These proteins can be classified into two general categories- proteins that generate mechanical forces and proteins that are subjected to mechanical forces. Proteins providing mechanical support to the structure of the cell, such as keratin, are subjected to mechanical force, whereas proteins involved in cell movement and transport of molecules across cell membranes, such as an ion pump, are examples of generating mechanical force.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 1, 2025

Mechano-Node-Pore Sensing: A Rapid, Label-Free Platform for Multi-Parameter Single-Cell Viscoelastic Measurements

Mechano-Node-Pore Sensing: A Rapid, Label-Free Platform for Multi-Parameter Single-Cell Viscoelastic Measurements

Published on: December 2, 2022

Automated Cell Mechanical Characterization by On-Chip Sequential Squeezing: From Static to Dynamic.

Pengyun Li¹, Xiaoming Liu¹, Masaru Kojima²

¹Key Laboratory of Biomimetic Robots and Systems, Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Intelligent Control and Decision of Complex System, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Intelligent Robots and Systems, and School of Mechatronical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China.

Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids

|June 25, 2021

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

This study introduces a new method to measure cell mechanical properties using microfluidics. The deformability increase rate shows potential for cancer cell recognition, independent of cell size.

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Area of Science:

Biomedical Engineering
Cellular Mechanics
Microfluidics

Background:

Cell mechanical properties serve as biomarkers for identification and disease diagnosis.
Existing methods for cell mechanics lack robustness, effectiveness, and cost-efficiency for clinical applications and high-throughput screening.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop an on-chip method for cell mechanical characterization using dynamic behavior analysis.
To evaluate the potential of a new index, the deformability increase rate, for cancer cell recognition.

Main Methods:

A serpentine microfluidic channel with 20 constrictions in series was designed.
Computer vision and automated data collection tracked cell passage time through constrictions.
Cell deformability was assessed by analyzing dynamic behavior during sequential squeezing.

Main Results:

A decrease in passage time and an increase in dynamic deformability were observed as cells passed through constrictions.
HeLa cells exhibited an eight-fold greater deformability increase rate compared to MEF cells.
The deformability increase rate showed a weak correlation with cell size, suggesting size-independent recognition.

Conclusions:

The deformability increase rate is a novel index for cell mechanical characterization.
This index demonstrates significant potential for accurate cancer cell recognition.
The method offers a robust and scalable approach for cell analysis.