The Role of the Optical Stretcher Is Crucial in the Investigation of Cell Mechanics Regulating Cell Adhesion and Motility.

Claudia Tanja Mierke

doi:10.3389/fcell.2019.00184

Claudia Tanja Mierke

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2019.00184

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Abstract

The mechanical properties of cells, tissues, and the surrounding extracellular matrix environment play important roles in the process of cell adhesion and migration. In physiological and pathological processes of the cells, such as wound healing and cancer, the capacity to migrate through the extracellular matrix is crucial. Hence biophysical techniques were used to determine the mechanical properties of cells that facilitate the various migratory capacities. Since the field of mechanobiology is rapidly growing, the reliable and reproducible characterization of cell mechanics is required that facilitates the adhesion and migration of cells. One of these cell mechanical techniques is the optical stretching device, which was originally developed to investigate the mechanical properties of cells, such as the deformation of single cells in suspension. After discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the technology, the latest findings in optical stretching-based cell mechanics are presented in this review. Finally, the mechanical properties of cells are correlated with their migratory potential and it is pointed out how the inhibition of biomolecules that contribute to the to the maintenance of cytoskeletal structures in cells affect their mechanical deformability.

Highlights

The process of cell adhesion and migration has been intensively investigated in terms of genetic and molecular alterations that promote or inhibit these fundamental cellular processes
There is agreement that the malignancy of cancer cells can be predicted by determining their cell mechanical properties, such as deformability (Beil et al, 2003; Guck et al, 2005; Mierke et al, 2008a, 2011a,b; Remmerbach et al, 2009; Fritsch et al, 2010; Mierke, 2013; Meinhövel et al, 2018) and/or the contractile force exertion of cells to their local microenvironment (Fischer et al, 2017)
When the cell mechanical properties can serve as an indicator for the malignancy of tumors, cell mechanical measurements can be used to determine the efficacy of distinct pharmacological anti-cancer drugs (Suresh, 2007), such as cytochalasins, vinca alkaloids, and taxanes that all can affect the cytoskeletal architecture by altering cellular mechanical properties (Lam et al, 2007; Fletcher and Mullins, 2010) and thereby impairing cancer cell proliferation (Jordan and Wilson, 1998; Zhou and Giannakakou, 2005; Di Carlo, 2012)

Summary

INTRODUCTION

The process of cell adhesion and migration has been intensively investigated in terms of genetic and molecular alterations that promote or inhibit these fundamental cellular processes. In order to obtain reliable and reproducible data, higher cell numbers need to be analyzed, when adhesive cells of highly altered cell shapes and polarities are measured These adhesionbased mechanical probing techniques are of less throughput and less automated compared to optical, hydrodynamics and confinement-based stretching and the number of analyzed cells is in general still lower. Alterations of cell-matrix or cell-cell adhesion receptors can be decoupled from the cellular mechanical properties, as the cells are analyzed in suspension using the optical cell stretching technology

LIMITATIONS

Findings

CONCLUDING REMARKS AND OUTLOOK