Traction force microscopy on soft elastic substrates: A guide to recent computational advances

Schwarz, Ulrich S.; Soiné, Jérôme R. D.

doi:10.1016/j.bbamcr.2015.05.028

Cited by 177 publications

(188 citation statements)

References 91 publications

(165 reference statements)

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“…As reported earlier, for 2D TFM our implementation of FEM-TFM gives equivalent results to the standard approach with FTTC [34]. In this case, FTTC is much more efficient and faster.…”

Section: Methods Validationsupporting

confidence: 57%

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Measuring cellular traction forces on non-planar substrates

et al. 2016

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Animal cells use traction forces to sense the mechanics and geometry of their environment. Measuring these traction forces requires a workflow combining cell experiments, image processing and force reconstruction based on elasticity theory. Such procedures have already been established mainly for planar substrates, in which case one can use the Green's function formalism. Here we introduce a workflow to measure traction forces of cardiac myofibroblasts on non-planar elastic substrates. Soft elastic substrates with a wave-like topology were micromoulded from polydimethylsiloxane and fluorescent marker beads were distributed homogeneously in the substrate. Using feature vector-based tracking of these marker beads, we first constructed a hexahedral mesh for the substrate. We then solved the direct elastic boundary volume problem on this mesh using the finite-element method. Using data simulations, we show that the traction forces can be reconstructed from the substrate deformations by solving the corresponding inverse problem with an L1-norm for the residue and an L2-norm for a zeroth-order Tikhonov regularization. Applying this procedure to the experimental data, we find that cardiac myofibroblast cells tend to align both their shapes and their forces with the long axis of the deformable wavy substrate.

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“…As reported earlier, for 2D TFM our implementation of FEM-TFM gives equivalent results to the standard approach with FTTC [34]. In this case, FTTC is much more efficient and faster.…”

Section: Methods Validationsupporting

confidence: 57%

“…During the last three decades, the measurement of cellular forces (traction force microscopy; TFM) has become a mature research field [31][32][33][34]. The standard set-up uses a planar elastic substrate whose deformations are tracked using embedded marker beads.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring cellular traction forces on non-planar substrates

et al. 2016

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“…They are selected due to their linear elasticity, optical transparency, and tunability of elastic moduli through polymer chain crosslinking, over several orders of magnitude [95]. Knowing the elastic moduli of the substrates, the displacement field can be converted to a traction force field using an inverse method [93, 96,97]. These forces are often on the order of nanonewton or tens of nanonewtons.…”

Section: Techniques To Study Cell–cell Adhesionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Techniques to stimulate and interrogate cell–cell adhesion mechanics

Yang

Broussard

Green

et al. 2018

Extreme Mechanics Letters

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Cell–cell adhesions maintain the mechanical integrity of multicellular tissues and have recently been found to act as mechanotransducers, translating mechanical cues into biochemical signals. Mechanotransduction studies have primarily focused on focal adhesions, sites of cell-substrate attachment. These studies leverage technical advances in devices and systems interfacing with living cells through cell–extracellular matrix adhesions. As reports of aberrant signal transduction originating from mutations in cell–cell adhesion molecules are being increasingly associated with disease states, growing attention is being paid to this intercellular signaling hub. Along with this renewed focus, new requirements arise for the interrogation and stimulation of cell–cell adhesive junctions. This review covers established experimental techniques for stimulation and interrogation of cell–cell adhesion from cell pairs to monolayers.

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“…Alternative approaches, such as that of Tichonov [66] and one based on classical functional analysis [60], have also been proposed to circumvent the limitations of the Bayesian method. For more information, the interested reader is directed to recent reviews on the limitations associated with these approaches [67,68]. …”

Section: Quantifying Traction Forcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microfabricated tissues for investigating traction forces involved in cell migration and tissue morphogenesis

Nerger

Siedlik

Nelson

2016

Cell. Mol. Life Sci.

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Cell-generated forces drive an array of biological processes ranging from wound healing to tumor metastasis. Whereas experimental techniques such as traction force microscopy are capable of quantifying traction forces in multidimensional systems, the physical mechanisms by which these forces induce changes in tissue form remain to be elucidated. Understanding these mechanisms will ultimately require techniques that are capable of quantifying traction forces with high precision and accuracy in vivo or in systems that recapitulate in vivo conditions, such as microfabricated tissues and engineered substrata. To that end, here we review the fundamentals of traction forces, their quantification, and the use of microfabricated tissues designed to study these forces during cell migration and tissue morphogenesis. We emphasize the differences between traction forces in two- and three-dimensional systems, and highlight recently developed techniques for quantifying traction forces.

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Traction force microscopy on soft elastic substrates: A guide to recent computational advances

Cited by 177 publications

References 91 publications

Measuring cellular traction forces on non-planar substrates

Measuring cellular traction forces on non-planar substrates

Techniques to stimulate and interrogate cell–cell adhesion mechanics

Microfabricated tissues for investigating traction forces involved in cell migration and tissue morphogenesis

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