Cell-ECM traction force modulates endogenous tension at cell-cell contacts

• Verfasst von: Maruthamuthu, Venkat [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Sabass, Benedikt [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Schwarz, Ulrich S. [VerfasserIn]
• Titel: Cell-ECM traction force modulates endogenous tension at cell-cell contacts
• Verf.angabe: Venkat Maruthamuthu, Benedikt Sabass, Ulrich S. Schwarz, and Margaret L. Gardel
• Umfang: 6 S.
• Fussnoten: Gesehen am 08.12.2017
• Titel Quelle: Enthalten in: National Academy of Sciences (Washington, DC): Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
• Jahr Quelle: 2011
• Band/Heft Quelle: 108(2011), 12, S. 4708-4713
• ISSN Quelle: 1091-6490
• DOI: doi:10.1073/pnas.1011123108
• Datenträger: Online-Ressource
• Sprache: eng
• K10plus-PPN: 156617497X

Abstract

Cells in tissues are mechanically coupled both to the ECM and neighboring cells, but the coordination and interdependency of forces sustained at cell-ECM and cell-cell adhesions are unknown. In this paper, we demonstrate that the endogenous force sustained at the cell-cell contact between a pair of epithelial cells is approximately 100 nN, directed perpendicular to the cell-cell interface and concentrated at the contact edges. This force is stably maintained over time despite significant fluctuations in cell-cell contact length and cell morphology. A direct relationship between the total cellular traction force on the ECM and the endogenous cell-cell force exists, indicating that the cell-cell tension is a constant fraction of the cell-ECM traction. Thus, modulation of ECM properties that impact cell-ECM traction alters cell-cell tension. Finally, we show in a minimal model of a tissue that all cells experience similar forces from the surrounding microenvironment, despite differences in the extent of cell-ECM and cell-cell adhesion. This interdependence of cell-cell and cell-ECM forces has significant implications for the maintenance of the mechanical integrity of tissues, mechanotransduction, and tumor mechanobiology.