A new method for visualizing mechanical forces on the surface of a cell, reported in Nature Methods, provides the first detailed view of those forces, as they occur in real-time.
"Now we're able to measure something that's never been measured
before: The force that one molecule applies to another molecule across
the entire surface of a living cell, and as this cell moves and goes
about its normal processes," says Khalid Salaita, assistant professor of
biomolecular chemistry at Emory University. "And we can visualize these
forces in a time-lapsed movie."
"Once a
force is applied to the polymer, it stretches out,” Salaita explains.
“And as it extends, the distance from the quencher increases and the
fluorescent signal turns on and grows brighter." (Credit: Graphic by
Daniel Stabley.)
Salaita developed the florescent-sensor technique with chemistry
graduate students Daniel Stabley and Carol Jurchenko, and undergraduate
senior Stephen Marshall.
"Cells are constantly tugging and pushing on their surroundings, and
they can even communicate with one another using mechanics," Salaita
says. "One way that cells use forces is evident from the characteristic
architecture of tissue, like a lung or a heart. If we want to really
understand cells and how they work, we have to understand cell mechanics
at a molecular level. The first step is to measure the tension applied
to specific receptors on the cell surface."
No comments:
Post a Comment