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Modeling distributed forces within cell adhesions of varying size on continuous substrates
Author(s) -
Hou Jay C.,
Shamsan Ghaidan A.,
Anderson Sarah M.,
McMahon Mariah M.,
Tyler Liam P.,
Castle Brian T.,
Heussner Rachel K.,
Provenzano Paolo P.,
Keefe Daniel F.,
Barocas Victor H.,
Odde David J.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
cytoskeleton
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.95
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1949-3592
pISSN - 1949-3584
DOI - 10.1002/cm.21561
Subject(s) - adhesion , stiffness , tractive force , clutch , biophysics , radius , cell adhesion , focal adhesion , materials science , traction (geology) , substrate (aquarium) , mechanics , biology , nanotechnology , biological system , cell , physics , composite material , computer science , paleontology , ecology , computer security , genetics , thermodynamics
Cell migration and traction are essential to many biological phenomena, and one of their key features is sensitivity to substrate stiffness, which biophysical models, such as the motor‐clutch model and the cell migration simulator can predict and explain. However, these models have not accounted for the finite size of adhesions, the spatial distribution of forces within adhesions. Here, we derive an expression that relates varying adhesion radius ( R ) and spatial distribution of force within an adhesion (described by s ) to the effective substrate stiffness ( κ sub ), as a function of the Young's modulus of the substrate ( E Y ), which yields the relation, κ sub = R s E Y , for two‐dimensional cell cultures. Experimentally, we found that a cone‐shaped force distribution ( s = 1.05 ) can describe the observed displacements of hydrogels deformed by adherent U251 glioma cells. Also, we found that the experimentally observed adhesion radius increases linearly with the cell protrusion force, consistent with the predictions of the motor‐clutch model with spatially distributed clutches. We also found that, theoretically, the influence of one protrusion on another through a continuous elastic environment is negligible. Overall, we conclude cells can potentially control their own interpretation of the mechanics of the environment by controlling adhesion size and spatial distribution of forces within an adhesion.