2024/07/29(Mon) 10:30 -11:30 五樓第一會議室 5F, 1st Meeting Room
Title
Force, Stiffness, and Cell Behavior
Speaker
Prof. Sangyoon J Han (Department of Biomedical Engineering, Michigan Technological University)Abstract
In this talk, I will introduce the field of mechanobiology, i.e., how mechanical forces influence cellular behavior. My laboratory is dedicated to understanding the interplay between cells and the extracellular matrix (ECM) in response to various mechanical cues, including bulk stiffness, nanoscale ECM architecture, and fluid shear stress. We employ innovative physical assays and computational techniques to quantify cellular traction forces and leverage imaging data analysis to observe the dynamic cell-ECM adhesion process from inception to disassembly. We have developed and shared a suite of computational tools to advance the field: (1) a traction force microscopy (TFM) software that enhances the precision and interpretation of cellular traction fields, and (2) a focal adhesion analysis package to monitor and categorize the diverse cell-ECM adhesions. Additionally, we integrate time series analysis to correlate adhesion dynamics with traction forces. Using these computational tools and live-cell imaging of key structural and signaling molecules, my lab seeks to identify the fundamental mechanism underlying the transduction process, i.e., from force transmission, structural sensing to signaling, within integrin-based adhesions for sensing the bulk and local ECM stiffness. I will focus on delivering a summary of our recent publication elucidating the myosin-independent stiffness-dependent traction transmission. Our work reveal that cells can generate differential tension in response to substrate stiffness without necessitating myosin contractility. This suggests that such differential tension is not contingent on a signaling response yet can initiate varied signaling pathways for other cellular processes, such as proliferation or survival. I will also briefly introduce a mathematical model that can explain the stiffness-dependent force transmission in myosin independent manner.
Speaker Instroduction
Language
演講語言 (Language): in English
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