Customer Publication
Cell-substratum and Cell-cell Adhesion Forces and Single-cell Mechanical Properties in Mono- and Multilayer Assemblies From Robotic Fluidic Force Microscopy
Journal: European Journal of Cell Biology (2022)
Institution: Budapest University of Technology and Economics,
Research Areas: Cell Research
Cell Lines: Vero, HeLa (kidney epithelial cells, Cervical cancer cells)
Summary: During embryonic development, the assembly of the epithelium is crucial to organoid formation, and the invasion of the epithelium is an essential step in cancer metastasis. Live cell mechanical properties and associated forces presumably play an important role in these biological processes. By observing that the force and work densities of Vero cells detached from tight monolayers were significantly higher compared to cells organized into single, island-like, and sparse monolayer assemblies, the authors introduced an equation that incorporates individual cell areas of the tight monolayer, to determine the forces and energies of cell-substratum and cell-cell contacts. This provides insight into the qualitative assessment of cell-substratum and cell-cell mechanical contacts in mono- and multilayered assemblies and demonstrates the robustness and speed of the robotic FluidFM technology to reveal biomechanical properties of live cell assemblies with statistical significance. HoloMonitor M4 was used to measure individual cell area and perimeter to determine the exact force and energy (work of adhesion) densities of single-cell contacts.