Regensburg 2004 – scientific programme

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AKB: Biologische Physik

AKB 50: Poster Session "Biological Physics"

AKB 50.34: Poster

Friday, March 12, 2004, 10:30–13:00, B

Elastic interactions of cells with soft materials — •Ilka Bischofs and Ulrich Schwarz — Max Planck Institut für Kolloid- und Grenzflächenforschung, Theorie, 14424 Potsdam

Mechanically active cells sense the mechanical properties of their environment and respond by strenghtening their cytoskeleton in the direction of maximal effective stiffness. Rigidity gradients, prestrain induced by external forces, traction by other cells, and the presence of sample boundaries locally alter the effective stiffness encountered by contractile cells. We model cells as anisotropic force contraction dipoles and use linear elasticity theory to calculate optimal cell organization in soft media. Our predictions for single cells agree nicely with experiments for fibroblasts: cells orient toward clamped and away from free surfaces and along the direction of tensile strain. The elastic interaction between cells shows a similar angular dependence as electrical dipoles. At low cell density, this leads to strings of cells, while at high cell density, branching into ring-like structures occurs.