In the present paper, Holographic Optical Tweezers (HOT) is employed to trap and manage functionalized micrometric latex beads with the aim at probing cellular forces in no-adherent state. For the first time at best of our knowledge, a suspended cell, subjected to mechanical stress, structures its cytoskeleton when anchored to point-like bonds. We exploit the HOT arrangement to induce mechanical deformation in suspended NIH 3T3 fibroblast. Our investigation is devoted to understand the inner cell mechanism when it is mechanically stressed by point-like stimulus without the substrate influence. In our experiment, cell adhesion is prevented and the stimulus is applied through latex beads trapped by HOT and positioned externally to the cell membrane. Our aims are devoted to analyze cell response during the transition from an homogeneous and isotropic structure (as it's in suspension) to a mechanically stressed state. To analyze the cell material interaction we combine the HOT arrangement with two imaging systems: a Digital Holography (DH) setup in microscope configuration that is an investigation method useful for quantitative, label-free and full-field analysis of low contrast object and a fluorescence modulus. HOT are exploited to induce cellular response to specific stimuli while DH allows to measure such responses in no-invasive way. Finally, fluorescence imaging is added to discriminate the inner cell structures.

Investigation on cytoskeleton dynamics for non-adherent cells under point-like stimuli

Fusco S;
2015-01-01

Abstract

In the present paper, Holographic Optical Tweezers (HOT) is employed to trap and manage functionalized micrometric latex beads with the aim at probing cellular forces in no-adherent state. For the first time at best of our knowledge, a suspended cell, subjected to mechanical stress, structures its cytoskeleton when anchored to point-like bonds. We exploit the HOT arrangement to induce mechanical deformation in suspended NIH 3T3 fibroblast. Our investigation is devoted to understand the inner cell mechanism when it is mechanically stressed by point-like stimulus without the substrate influence. In our experiment, cell adhesion is prevented and the stimulus is applied through latex beads trapped by HOT and positioned externally to the cell membrane. Our aims are devoted to analyze cell response during the transition from an homogeneous and isotropic structure (as it's in suspension) to a mechanically stressed state. To analyze the cell material interaction we combine the HOT arrangement with two imaging systems: a Digital Holography (DH) setup in microscope configuration that is an investigation method useful for quantitative, label-free and full-field analysis of low contrast object and a fluorescence modulus. HOT are exploited to induce cellular response to specific stimuli while DH allows to measure such responses in no-invasive way. Finally, fluorescence imaging is added to discriminate the inner cell structures.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11695/99280
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