Regensburg 2004 – scientific programme

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AKB: Biologische Physik

AKB 50: Poster Session "Biological Physics"

AKB 50.35: Poster

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

Active forces of motile cells — •Claudia Brunner, Michael Gögler, Allen Ehrlicher, and Josef Käs — a

Cellular motility is a ubiquitous component of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, spanning varied functions from the immune system, to the developing brain, to the grave invasiveness of cancer.

Various individual components, such as molecular motors and actin filament polymerization have been explored to explain cell movement, but the cell as a whole system is not well understood. Experiments on living cells are necessary to understand the properties and abilities of their polymer networks functioning together as one system.

The atomic force microscope is an excellent tool to determine the mechanical forces which are responsible for cell movement. With a polystyrene bead glued on a commercial AFM-tip, living cells can be safely measured. We have probed fast moving keratocytes and directly measured the cell extension forces, allowing us to compare extension forces with the cells velocities and other properties.