Measuring mechanical stress in living tissues.

Area of Science:

• Biophysics
• Cell Biology
• Biomaterials Science

Background:

• Living tissues are dynamic materials that generate, sense, and respond to mechanical stress.
• Mechanical stress plays a vital role in tissue development, homeostasis, healing, and regeneration.
• Aberrant mechanical stress is linked to various pathologies, including developmental defects, inflammation, and cancer metastasis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review and categorize techniques for measuring mechanical stress in living tissues.
• To highlight methods offering cellular and subcellular resolution.
• To discuss the application of these techniques in understanding biological processes and diseases.

Main Methods:

• 2D techniques for cell monolayers: traction microscopy, micro-pillar arrays, monolayer stress microscopy, and flexible cantilever stretching.
• 3D techniques for tissue cultures: 3D traction microscopy and the micro-bulge test.
• In vivo techniques: servo-null methods, deformable inclusions, Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) sensors, laser ablation, and computational force inference.

Main Results:

• A comprehensive overview of diverse techniques for mechanical stress measurement in biological systems.
• Categorization of methods based on dimensionality (2D, 3D, in vivo) and resolution.
• Emphasis on the rapid advancement and potential of these techniques.

Conclusions:

• Measuring mechanical stress in living tissues is essential for understanding fundamental biology and disease.
• The reviewed techniques, despite current limitations, are rapidly advancing our comprehension of mechanobiology.
• Further development of these tools will significantly impact research in morphogenesis, homeostasis, and pathology.