hide
Free keywords:
Issue DateJuly 2018
Abstract:
Cell mechanics controls important cellular and subcellular functions, including cell adhesion, migration, polarization, and differentiation, as well as organelle organization, and trafficking inside the cytoplasm. Yet, reported values of cell stiffness and viscosity vary strongly, suggesting disagreements. To address this issue and illustrate the complementarity of different instruments, we present, analyze, and critically compare measurements conducted by some of the most widelyused methods of cell mechanics: atomic force microscopy, magnetic twisting cytometry, particle-tracking microrheology, parallel-platesrheometry, cell monolayer rheology, and optical stretcher.These measurements highlight that elastic and viscous moduliofbreast cancer cell MCF-7 can vary 1,000 fold and 100fold,respectively. We discussthe sources ofthese variations,including the level of applied mechanical stress and rate of deformation, the geometry of the probe, the location probed in the cell, and the extracellular microenvironment.
