BPCPPDYSOE21 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 24: Poster B: Active Biological Matter, Cell Mechanics, Systems Biology, Computational Biophysics, etc.

BP 24.26: Poster

Tuesday, March 23, 2021, 16:00–18:30, BPp

Contractile activity inhibition of Dupuytren fibroblasts: AFM mechanical approach — •Sandra Pérez-Domínguez and Manfred Radmacher — Institute of Biophysics, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany

Dupuytren's disease is a fibromatosis of the connective tissue of the palm that causes progressive and permanent contracture of the digits. The mechanical properties of healthy, scar and Dupuytren fibroblasts, all from the same patient, were investigated employing the AFM after inhibiting the myosin light chain kinase. For this purpose, ML-7 was used to block the actin-myosin activity, therefore, reducing inhibiting the cell contraction. The stiffness of Dupuytren fibroblasts was around 3 kPa before adding ML-7 and in almost all cases a decrease to 400 Pa was observed after ML-7 addition. 60% of Dupuytren cells did not recover; nevertheless, 30% of them showed a recovery over time. Scar fibroblasts have a Young's modulus of 2.5 kPa before adding ML-7 and showed a decrease to 300 Pa after adding ML-7 similar to what we observed with the Dupuytren fibroblasts. Most scar fibroblasts reacted to the inhibitor; however, some 20% did not show any response. Healthy fibroblasts showed - in preliminary experiments using a different AFM cantilever tip - a smaller response when ML-7 has been added, and some of the cells did not respond to the inhibitor considerably. This is actually conceivable since healthy fibroblasts shall have less cortical tensity, i.e. less myosin activity, and consequently applying a myosin inhibitor will result in less change.