Abstract
A bio-chemo-mechanical model has been used to predict the contractile responses of smooth cells on a bed of micro-posts. Predictions obtained for smooth muscle cells reveal that, by converging onto a single set of parameters, the model captures all of the following responses in a self-consistent manner: (i) the scaling of the force exerted by the cells with the number of posts; (ii) actin distributions within the cells, including the rings of actin around the micro-posts; (iii) the curvature of the cell boundaries between the posts; and (iv) the higher post forces towards the cell periphery. Similar correspondences between predictions and measurements have been demonstrated for fibroblasts and mesenchymal stem cells once the maximum stress exerted by the stress fibre bundles has been recalibrated. Consistent with measurements, the model predicts that the forces exerted by the cells will increase with both increasing post stiffness and cell area (or equivalently, post spacing). In conjunction with previous assessments, these findings suggest that this framework represents an important step towards a complete model for the coupled bio-chemo-mechanical responses of cells.
Highlights
Most living cells sense, support and generate forces central to their functionality (e.g. Harris et al 1981; Bao & Suresh 2003; Discher et al 2005)
The following similarities are observed between mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), smooth muscle cells and fibroblasts: (i) Images of the MSCs stained for actin presented in figure 9a reveal that, similar to the smooth muscle cells, rings of actin are present around the micro-posts
A bio-chemo-mechanical model has been used to predict the contractile responses of cells on a bed of micro-posts
Summary
Support and generate forces central to their functionality (e.g. Harris et al 1981; Bao & Suresh 2003; Discher et al 2005). Contractility, when included, has been imposed as a stress-free strain on the cell, regarded as either an isotropic elastic continuum (Nelson et al 2005) or a discrete set of elastic filaments (Mohrdieck et al 2005) All such models neglect the biochemistry of the active apparatus within the cell that generates, supports and responds to mechanical forces. The observations of Tan et al (2003) made with smooth muscle cells are used to demonstrate that the force measurements, the actin distributions and the cell membrane curvatures can all be self-consistently interpreted within the framework of the model, upon selecting a specific set of parameters. The model is used to make additional predictions of the effects of the stiffness and geometry of the post array on the response of smooth muscle cells
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