Force-extension relationship of cell-cell contacts.

Date publication

juin 2007

Auteurs

Membres identifiés du Cancéropôle Est :
Pr RIVELINE Daniel

Tous les auteurs :
Brevier J, Vallade M, Riveline D

Lien Pubmed

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17678130

Résumé

Adherens junctions (AJ) are adhesive motifs joining neighboring cells. The physical contacts are fingerlike structures which grow perpendicular to the cell-cell interface. While their length may vary with the applied force, their density is independent of length. Here we measure AJ contact lengths while varying the mean contractile force of the cell using nocodazole. Using this assay and a simple mechanical model, we measure an effective spring constant of about 30 pN/microm per finger. This measurement may enable the estimation of cell monolayer force distributions from a simple AJ image.

Référence

Phys Rev Lett. 2007 Jun 29;98(26):268101