Dresden 2020 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 10: Poster III

BP 10.9: Poster

Monday, March 16, 2020, 17:30–19:30, P2/3OG

Elastic beads as tension sensors to measure the spatial force distribution in reconstructed muscle — •Tamara Limón, Arne Hofemeier, Alejandro Jurado, Bernhard Wallmeyer, and Timo Betz — University of Münster, ZMBE, Institute for Cell Biology

The quantification of forces within the niche of skeletal muscles has gained an increasing importance in the field of regenerative medicine especially in terms of satellite cell (SC) activation. Recent studies have shown that force sensors based on known material properties are a useful tool to analyze cell mechanics. Here, we present a technique using characterized elastic beads as tension sensors to measure forces in reconstructed muscle. The elastic beads are seeded together with the myoblast cell line C2C12 into a fibrin-geltrex scaffold on a silicon substrate to generate a three-dimensional in vitro muscle. Due to the deformation of incorporated beads we calculated the tension present in 7-day old muscles by a custom-made bead analysis software. First results indicate differences in force axes and in magnitude of bead deformation giving rise to a spatial force distribution ranging between 1.6 - 4.1 kPa tension in the muscle. A possible explanation might be related to dissimilar stress fiber formation with thicker stress fibers at the lateral sides. Understanding the aspects of a spatial force distribution in muscles could enlighten mechanisms involved in SC activation and improve handling with SC for gene therapy.