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Full-Text Articles in Cell and Developmental Biology
E-Cadherin Force Transmission And Stiffness Sensing, Mazen Mezher
E-Cadherin Force Transmission And Stiffness Sensing, Mazen Mezher
Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations
E-cadherin is the chief mediator of cell-cell adhesion between epithelial cells and is a known mechanosensor. Force transmission and stiffness sensing are two crucial aspects of E-cadherin mechanobiology.
E-cadherin has an extracellular adhesive region, a transmembrane region and an intracellular region that binds to adhesion-associated proteins. Here, we assessed how different factors affect the level of force transmission (i) from inside the cell such as adhesion-associated proteins, (ii) on the cell membrane, such as growth factor receptors and (iii) outside the cell, such as different binding partners in adhesion. To study the level of force transmission inside the cell, we …
Effect Of The Physical Micro-Environment On Cell Adhesion And Force Exertion, Mohamad Eftekharjoo
Effect Of The Physical Micro-Environment On Cell Adhesion And Force Exertion, Mohamad Eftekharjoo
Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations
Physical characteristics of the microenvironment, such as geometry and stiffness, influence cell adhesion and contractile forces. Here, we determined how these physical factors influenced cell force exertion and adhesion in two specific contexts that have broad relevance.
Fibroblasts are cells in connective tissues that interact with a fibrous extracellular matrix (ECM) that have a predominantly one-dimensional (1D) (fibrillar) geometry. However, it has been unclear as to how the 1D nature of the fibrillar ECM influences the forces exerted by fibroblasts. Here, we used fibroblast cells adherent on fibronectin lines on polyacrylamide (PAA) gels of stiffness 13 and 45 kPa to …
Endogenous Force Transmission Between Epithelial Cells And A Role For Α-Catenin, Sandeep Dumbali
Endogenous Force Transmission Between Epithelial Cells And A Role For Α-Catenin, Sandeep Dumbali
Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations
In epithelial tissues, epithelial cells adhere to each other as well as to the underlying extra-cellular matrix (ECM). E-cadherin-based intercellular junctions play an important role in tissue integrity. These junctions experience cell-generated mechanical forces via apparent adaptor proteins such as beta (β) catenin, alpha (α) catenin and vinculin. Abnormalities in these junctions may result in skin related diseases and cancers. Here, I devised methods to determine the endogenous intercellular force within cell pairs as well as in large epithelial islands. I further ascertained the factors that affect the level of inter-cellular tension.
Experiments with pairs of epithelial cells exogenously expressing …