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Distending stress of the cytoskeleton is a key determinant of cell rheological behavior

2004; Elsevier BV; Volume: 321; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.bbrc.2004.07.011

1090-2104

Noah J. Rosenblatt, Shaohua Hu, Jianxin Chen, Ning Wang, Dimitrije Stamenović,

Microfluidic and Bio-sensing Technologies

One fundamental question in cell biology is what determines rheological properties of living cells. If the cytoskeletal distending stress is a key determinant of cell rheology, then modulating this stress by cell stretching should have a major effect on cell rheological properties. If not, then other mechanisms must play a major role. We developed a stretchable cell culture device that could rapidly stretch cells and thus generate passive mechanical stress within the cytoskeleton. This device was placed inside a magnetic cytometry system to measure the effect of stretching on rheological properties of cultured human airway smooth muscle cells. A gradual increase in cell distension caused a systematic increase in cell dynamic stiffness in a manner which was consistent with earlier observations where the active component of the distending stress was modulated pharmacologically. These findings provide strong evidence that the cytoskeletal distending stress is a key determinant of cell rheological properties.