Dresden 2020 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 30: Cell Adhesion and Migration, Multicellular Systemadhesion and Migration, Multicellular Systems II

BP 30.10: Talk

Thursday, March 19, 2020, 12:30–12:45, HÜL 386

Morphological and Mechanical Dynamics of Migrating Platelets Investigated with Scanning Ion Conductance Microscopy — •Johannes Rheinlaender, Jan Seifert, and Tilman E. Schäffer — Institute of Applied Physics, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, Germany

Platelets or thrombocytes are the central element of the hemostatic system as being the first cells adhering to the site of a vessel injury, orchestrating the blood clot formation, and thereby establishing the initial steps of sealing the wound. In addition, platelets have been quite recently identified to be very motile cells, which can actively migrate towards sites of inflammation or bacterial pathogens. However, many aspects of the underlying cellular machinery are still unknown. We therefore studied migrating platelets using scanning ion conductance microscopy (SICM), an imaging technique providing topography images together with quantitative mechanical sample properties at nanoscale resolution. Thereby, we found that migrating platelets exhibit a three-dimensional shape anisotropy, which is directionally correlated with the direction of migration. Furthermore, we used SICM to record time-lapsed maps of the elastic modulus of migrating platelets, which revealed a characteristic subcellular distribution. We show that this distribution is caused by a dynamics reorganization of the platelet's actin cytoskeleton and thereby give direct mechanical evidence that platelet migration is driven by active cytoskeletal reorganization.