Decoupling Substrate Stiffness, Spread Area, and Micropost Density: A Close Spatial Relationship between Traction Forces and Focal Adhesions
Decoupling Substrate Stiffness, Spread Area, and Micropost Density: A Close Spatial Relationship between Traction Forces and Focal Adhesions
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DOI：
10.1016/j.bpj.2012.07.023
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发表时间：
2012-08-22
影响因子：
3.4
通讯作者：
Sniadecki, Nathan J.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Han, Sangyoon J.;Bielawski, Kevin S.;Sniadecki, Nathan J.
机械提示可以影响细胞产生牵引力和形成局灶粘连的方式。细胞基底的刚度和细胞扩散的可用面积会影响其产生的牵引力，但这些因素在多大程度上相互交织还不清楚。在这项研究中，我们使用微接触印刷和微柱阵列来控制细胞扩散、衬底刚度和柱密度，以评估它们对牵引力和焦点粘附的影响。我们发现，铺展面积和衬底刚度都以独立的方式影响牵引力，但这些因素具有相反的作用：较硬衬底上的单元产生较高的平均力，而铺展面积较大的单元产生较低的平均力。我们表明，柱密度对牵引力产生的影响比扩散面积的影响更主要。此外，我们观察到焦点粘附对扩散面积、基板刚度和柱密度的响应方式与牵引力的趋势密切匹配。这项工作支持的概念，牵引力和焦点粘连有密切的关系，他们对机械线索的反应。
Mechanical cues can influence the manner in which cells generate traction forces and form focal adhesions. The stiffness of a cell's substrate and the available area on which it can spread can influence its generation of traction forces, but to what extent these factors are intertwined is unclear. In this study, we used microcontact printing and micropost arrays to control cell spreading, substrate stiffness, and post density to assess their effect on traction forces and focal adhesions. We find that both the spread area and the substrate stiffness influence traction forces in an independent manner, but these factors have opposite effects: cells on stiffer substrates produce higher average forces, whereas cells with larger spread areas generate lower average forces. We show that post density influences the generation of traction forces in a manner that is more dominant than the effect of spread area. Additionally, we observe that focal adhesions respond to spread area, substrate stiffness, and post density in a manner that closely matches the trends seen for traction forces. This work supports the notion that traction forces and focal adhesions have a close relationship in their response to mechanical cues.