Ultimately Adaptive Fluid Interfacial Phospholipid Membranes Unveiled Unanticipated High Cellular Mechanical Work

Area of Science:

• Biophysics
• Cell Biology
• Materials Science

Background:

• Living cells dynamically interact with extracellular matrices (ECMs) through biochemical and mechanical processes.
• Quantifying the mechanical contributions in cell-ECM remodeling remains challenging due to limitations in current methods.
• Understanding cell-ECM mechanical interplay is crucial for deciphering cellular behavior and fate.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a quantitative method for evaluating mechanical energy transfer between cells and their surrounding matrices.
• To investigate the role of mechanical interactions in cell-matrix remodeling and adaptive processes.
• To explore the potential of cellular mechanical work for cell fate manipulation.

Main Methods:

• Development of a highly deformable, "living" cellular scaffold utilizing a water-perfluorocarbon interface.
• Decoration of the interface with phospholipids bearing cell-adhesive ligands and fluorescent tags.
• Visualization and quantification of cellular mechanical work against the model ECM, preventing protein nanofilm formation.

Main Results:

• Identification of a novel cellular wetting regime characterized by interface deformation, cell flattening, and restoration.
• Quantification of cellular mechanical work, found to be an order of magnitude higher than with conventional elastic platforms.
• Demonstration that cellular viscoelasticity governs the wetting regime and mechanical output, analogous to viscous liquid drops.

Conclusions:

• The developed living cellular scaffold enables quantitative assessment of cell-ECM mechanical energy transfer.
• Cellular mechanical work on this adaptive platform is significantly higher, offering new insights into cell-matrix interactions.
• Harnessing cellular-force-driven high-energy states may provide novel strategies for cell fate manipulation.