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Detecting cell-adhesive sites in extracellular matrix using force spectroscopy mapping.

ABSTRACT: The cell microenvironment is composed of extracellular matrix (ECM), which contains specific binding sites that allow the cell to adhere to its surroundings. Cells employ focal adhesion proteins, which must be able to resist a variety of forces to bind to ECM. Current techniques for detecting the spatial arrangement of these adhesions, however, have limited resolution and those that detect adhesive forces lack sufficient spatial characterization or resolution. Using a unique application of force spectroscopy, we demonstrate here the ability to determine local changes in the adhesive property of a fibronectin substrate down to the resolution of the fibronectin antibody-functionalized tip diameter, ~20 nm. To verify the detection capabilities of force spectroscopy mapping (FSM), changes in loading rate and temperature were used to alter the bond dynamics and change the adhesion force. Microcontact printing was also used to pattern fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated fibronectin in order to mimic the discontinuous adhesion domains of native ECM. Fluorescent detection was used to identify the pattern while FSM was used to map cell adhesion sites in registry with the initial fluorescent image. The results show that FSM can be used to detect the adhesion domains at high resolution and may subsequently be applied to native ECM with randomly distributed cell adhesion sites.

SUBMITTER: Chirasatitsin S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2997741 | biostudies-literature | 2010 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Detecting cell-adhesive sites in extracellular matrix using force spectroscopy mapping.

Chirasatitsin Somyot S Engler Adam J AJ

Journal of physics. Condensed matter : an Institute of Physics journal 20100501 19

The cell microenvironment is composed of extracellular matrix (ECM), which contains specific binding sites that allow the cell to adhere to its surroundings. Cells employ focal adhesion proteins, which must be able to resist a variety of forces to bind to ECM. Current techniques for detecting the spatial arrangement of these adhesions, however, have limited resolution and those that detect adhesive forces lack sufficient spatial characterization or resolution. Using a unique application of force ...[more]

PMID: 21152375

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Project description:Focal contacts act as mechanosensors allowing cells to respond to their biomechanical environment. Force transmission through newly formed contact sites is a highly dynamic process requiring a stable link between the intracellular cytoskeleton and the extracellular environment. To simultaneously investigate cellular traction forces in several individual maturing adhesion sites within the same cell, we established a custom-built multiple trap optical tweezers setup. Beads functionalized with fibronectin or RGD-peptides were placed onto the apical surface of a cell and trapped with a maximum force of 160 pN. Cells form adhesion contacts around the beads as demonstrated by vinculin accumulation and start to apply traction forces after 30 seconds. Force transmission was found to strongly depend on bead size, surface density of integrin ligands and bead location on the cell surface. Highest traction forces were measured for beads positioned on the leading edge. For mouse embryonic fibroblasts, traction forces acting on single beads are in the range of 80 pN after 5 minutes. If two beads were positioned parallel to the leading edge and with a center-to-center distance less than 10 µm, traction forces acting on single beads were reduced by 40%. This indicates a spatial and temporal coordination of force development in closely related adhesion sites. We also used our setup to compare traction forces, retrograde transport velocities, and migration velocities between two cell lines (mouse melanoma and fibroblasts) and primary chick fibroblasts. We find that maximal force development differs considerably between the three cell types with the primary cells being the strongest. In addition, we observe a linear relation between force and retrograde transport velocity: a high retrograde transport velocity is associated with strong cellular traction forces. In contrast, migration velocity is inversely related to traction forces and retrograde transport velocity.

Dataset Information

Detecting cell-adhesive sites in extracellular matrix using force spectroscopy mapping.

Publications

Detecting cell-adhesive sites in extracellular matrix using force spectroscopy mapping.

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