RESEARCH ARTICLE


Cyclic Force Applied to FAs Induces Actin Recruitment Depending on the Dynamic Loading Pattern



Y Ueki1, 2, N Sakamoto1, M Sato*, 1, 3
1 Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, Japan
2 Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tohoku University, Japan
3 Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, Tohoku University, Japan


Article Metrics

CrossRef Citations:
9
Total Statistics:

Full-Text HTML Views: 756
Abstract HTML Views: 425
PDF Downloads: 176
Total Views/Downloads: 1357
Unique Statistics:

Full-Text HTML Views: 448
Abstract HTML Views: 259
PDF Downloads: 146
Total Views/Downloads: 853



Creative Commons License
© Ueki et al.; Licensee Bentham Open.

open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited

* Address correspondence to this author at the Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, Tohoku University, 6-6-01 Aramaki-aoba, Aoba-ward, Sendai 980-8579, Japan; Tel: +81-22-795-6942; Fax: +81-22-795-6943; E-mail: sato-m@bme.tohoku.ac.jp


Abstract

Mechanical forces acting on focal adhesions (FAs) are believed to be an important determinant for cytoskeletal reorganization. However, the effect of the temporal pattern of forces on cellular responses has not been elucidated. In the present study, we examined the responses of FAs to locally-applied cyclic forces. Magnetic micro beads coated with fibronectin were attached to the apical surface of endothelial cells and continuous or cyclic forces at frequencies of 0.1-10 Hz with duty cycles of 0-100% were applied to the beads using a newly developed electromagnetic tweezer. A significant increase in actin recruitment around the beads was observed when cyclic forces at 1-2 Hz and 25-50% duty cycles were applied. This tendency disappeared upon modification of myosin activity. These results indicate that the sensitivity to temporal patterns of forces is detemined by the viscoelastic properes of FAs and depends on myosin activity.

Keywords: Focal Adhesion, mechanotransduction, endothelial cell, electromagnetic tweezwer..