Dresden 2009 – scientific programme
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 4: Cell Mechanics
BP 4.2: Talk
Monday, March 23, 2009, 14:45–15:00, HÜL 186
Force-induced movement of focal adhesions — •Benedikt Sabass1,2, Sergey V. Plotnikov3, Clare Waterman3, and Ulrich S. Schwarz1,2 — 1University of Heidelberg, Bioquant 0013, Im Neuenheimer Feld 267, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany — 2University of Karlsruhe, Theoretical Biophysics Group, Kaiserstrasse 12, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany — 3National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-8019NIH, USA
Adhesion and migration of tissue cells in the extracellular matrix is based on the localization of integrin adhesion receptors into so-called focal adhesions, where biochemical and mechanical signals are integrated to determine the cellular response. We have performed high resolution traction force microscopy measurements on fibroblasts to compare the magnitude of transmitted traction with the intensity of the fluorescently labeled cytoplasmic adhesion protein paxillin. We find that the ratio between traction and paxillin fluorescence is highest at the distal side of focal adhesions. The force at focal adhesions can also induce their movement. Analysis of the dynamical behavior of sliding adhesions revealed three characteristic regimes: stationary adhesion, creeping with force transmission and slipping without force transmission. We evoke simple physical models to qualitatively explain these three regimes.