Multimedia Gallery - Epithelial cells are imaged on a custom strain array device developed to stretch cells.

September 28, 2011

Epithelial cells are imaged on a custom strain array device developed to stretch cells.

Epithelial cells are imaged on a custom strain array device developed to stretch cells for an EFRI project at Stanford University. This project will investigate mechanical interactions between cells that are instrumental to basic processes of life and yet remain poorly understood. In multicellular tissues, the effects of mechanical forces such as stress and strain are focused on junctions that connect the cells together. The team will create novel engineering devices to visualize and characterize how junctions between living cells change as force is applied. They will also use a new class of molecular force sensors to directly visualize the transmission of molecular-scale mechanical force through cell junctions. With these methods, devices and probes, this project aims to transform understanding of the thresholds and mechanisms for environmental adaptation and remodeling of multicellular systems.

Credit: Joo Yong Sim, Nicolas Borghi, James Nelson and Beth Pruitt, Stanford University

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