Dresden 2011 – wissenschaftliches Programm
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 22: Physics of Cells I
BP 22.4: Vortrag
Mittwoch, 16. März 2011, 16:00–16:15, ZEU 250
Single cell motility in flow: how parasites invade tissue — •Sravanti Uppaluri1, Niko Heddergott2, Eric Stellamanns1, Stephan Herminghaus1, Markus Engstler2, and Thomas Pfohl1,3 — 1Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self Organization, Göttingen, Germany — 2University of Würzburg, Germany — 3University of Basel, Switzerland
Foreign cells in the mammalian blood stream have to navigate through a dense and rapid stream of red blood cells to invade host tissue. Trypanosomes, parasites responsible for devastating disease in Africa, are found in the mammalian bloodstream and penetrate the central nervous system during late stages of African Sleeping Sickness. Using microfluidics as a tool to mimic blood vessels, we investigate single cell trypanosome motility. In flow, trypanosomes experience a velocity dependent lift force away from vessel walls and migrate to the centre. Purely hydrodynamic effects arising from the trypanosome's shape and density are distinguished from effects of cell motility by comparing with immobilised trypanosome behaviour. While immobilised trypanosomes are aligned parallel to the vessel walls in flow, self propelling cells orient themselves perpendicular to the wall. Typical blood vessels have a cell free layer near the channel walls due to the migration of red blood cells toward the centre of the vessel. We confirm that in high flow velocities active trypanosomes are found in the depletion layer near the . Our studies show that despite relatively high flow velocities both hydrodynamic interactions and cell motility play a strong role in the overall swimming behaviour of parasites.