A Perspective on Developing Modeling and Image Analysis Tools to Investigate Mechanosensing Proteins

Area of Science:

• Cell Biology
• Bioengineering
• Image Analysis

Background:

• Interdisciplinary research is increasingly prioritized by funding bodies.
• Scientists often lack awareness of cross-disciplinary insights for problem-solving.
• Existing workflows do not adequately support interdisciplinary studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present an experimental pipeline integrating microscopy and image analysis/bioengineering.
• To connect microscopy observations of mechanosensing proteins to quantitative image analysis.
• To establish best practices for interdisciplinary workflow integration.

Main Methods:

• Utilized fluorescence microscopy to observe mechanosensing proteins (obscurin).
• Employed ImageJ WEKA and mTrack2 programs for image analysis.
• Applied MATLAB for data quantification and modeling.
• Developed a workflow for quantifying cell properties from microscopy videos.

Main Results:

• Successfully linked microscopy observations to quantitative image analysis techniques.
• Quantified cell properties such as perimeter and velocity from microscopy videos of MDCK cells.
• Demonstrated foundational measurements for creating advanced cell mechanics tools.

Conclusions:

• The developed workflow facilitates the quantification of cell properties from microscopy data.
• This integrated approach supports interdisciplinary research by bridging microscopy and bioengineering.
• The methodology provides a foundation for customizable cell mechanics modeling.