Open AccessElastic modulus of Dictyostelium is affected by mechanotransduction
Author(s) -
Yan Wu,
Kate Cooper
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of biological physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.318
H-Index - 46
eISSN - 1573-0689
pISSN - 0092-0606
DOI - 10.1007/s10867-019-09529-1
Subject(s) - mechanotransduction , dictyostelium discoideum , focal adhesion , multicellular organism , stiffness , elastic modulus , dictyostelium , cell mechanics , biophysics , integrin , microbiology and biotechnology , chemistry , materials science , nanotechnology , cell , cytoskeleton , biology , signal transduction , composite material , biochemistry , gene
The stiffness of adherent mammalian cells is regulated by the elasticity of substrates due to mechanotransduction via integrin-based focal adhesions. Dictyostelium discoideum is an ameboid protozoan model organism that does not carry genes for classical integrin and can adhere to substrates without forming focal adhesions. It also has a life cycle that naturally includes both single-cellular and multicellular life forms. In this article, we report the measurements of the elastic modulus of single cells on varied substrate stiffnesses and the elastic modulus of the multicellular "slug" using atomic force microscopy (AFM) as a microindenter/force transducer. The results show that the elastic modulus of the Dictyostelium cell is regulated by the stiffness of the substrate and its surrounding cells, which is similar to the mechanotransduction behavior of mammalian cells.