Measurement of mechanical tractions exerted by cells in three-dimensional matrices.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Legant WR
PROVIDER: S-EPMC3056435 | biostudies-other | 2010 Dec
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other
Publications
Measurement of mechanical tractions exerted by cells in three-dimensional matrices.
Legant Wesley R WR Miller Jordan S JS Blakely Brandon L BL Cohen Daniel M DM Genin Guy M GM Chen Christopher S CS
Nature methods 20101114 12
Quantitative measurements of cell-generated forces have heretofore required that cells be cultured on two-dimensional substrates. We describe a technique to quantitatively measure three-dimensional traction forces exerted by cells fully encapsulated in well-defined elastic hydrogel matrices. Using this approach we measured traction forces for several cell types in various contexts and revealed patterns of force generation attributable to morphologically distinct regions of cells as they extend i ...[more]
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