Measure and characterization of the forces exerted by growing multicellular spheroids using microdevice arrays

Abstract

Growing multicellular spheroids recapitulate many features of expanding microtumours, and therefore they are an attractive system for biomechanical studies. Here, we report an original approach to measure and characterize the forces exerted by proliferating multicellular spheroids. As force sensors, we used high aspect ratio PDMS pillars arranged as a ring that supports a growing breast tumour cell spheroid. After optical imaging and determination of the force application zones, we combined 3D reconstruction of the shape of each deformed PDMS pillar with the finite element method to extract the forces responsible for the experimental observation. We found that the force exerted by growing spheroids ranges between 100nN and 300nN. Moreover, the exerted force was dependent on the pillar stiffness and increased over time with spheroid growth.

A Dynamic Hanging-Drop System for Mesenchymal Stem Cell Culture

“…For WJ-MSCs, in the early stage of the cell spheroid growth, the surface pressure was high, resulting in high cell cohesion and aggregation. During the middle period to the late period of spheroid growth, the pressure was reduced, enabling rapid cell growth and amplification [42][43][44]. According to a previous study, increased pressure on the cell culture environment may promote the ossification of the MSCs [45].…”

The oronasopharyngeal space and renewed formalization of the functional matrix hypothesis

“…Turbulent airflow occurs above 40-80 Pa [23]; thus, nasal breathing may be 100 Pa and higher during intense physical exercise, such as vigorous play. Bernoulli forces of this magnitude represent 10 gm of compression pressure per sq cm and are many orders of magnitude larger than proliferative pressure exerted by mitotically growing tissues [24].…”

Revisiting tissue tensegrity: Biomaterial-based approaches to measure forces across length scales

“…4(h) ]. 189 In each of these studies, the induced prestress in the self-assembled tissues was found to be crucial for contractile functionality and for generating normal physiological responses. The balance in prestress magnitude also arises as an important parameter, where suboptimal stress can impede maturation, while excessive stresses triggers pathogenic fibrosis and hypertrophy.…”