Tissue stress measurements with Bayesian inversion stress microscopy.

Area of Science:

• Biophysics
• Cell Biology
• Mechanobiology

Background:

• Cells in tissues experience dynamic mechanical forces crucial for biological processes.
• Understanding internal tissue stress is key to studying cell morphogenesis, migration, division, and death.
• Previous methods for measuring tissue stress had limitations, especially in complex cellular environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and validate Bayesian inversion stress microscopy (BISM) for measuring absolute stresses in confined cell monolayers.
• To demonstrate the broad applicability and robustness of BISM across diverse experimental conditions and cell types.
• To compare BISM with existing stress measurement techniques and discuss its potential and limitations.

Main Methods:

• Bayesian inversion stress microscopy (BISM) was employed, relying on measuring cell-generated traction forces.
• Experiments were conducted on confined cell monolayers with varying boundary conditions and cell types.
• BISM was applied without making assumptions about cell rheology.

Main Results:

• BISM accurately measures absolute stresses in confined cell monolayers.
• The technique proved robust and applicable to tissues of arbitrary shapes and diverse cell compositions.
• BISM demonstrated effectiveness even without prior knowledge of cell rheology.

Conclusions:

• BISM is a versatile and robust method for quantifying internal tissue stress in various biological contexts.
• The technique's ability to work without rheological assumptions makes it suitable for complex, heterogeneous tissues.
• BISM offers a valuable tool for advancing research in mechanobiology and related cellular processes.