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The many faces of membrane tension: Challenges across systems and scales. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA. BIOMEMBRANES 2022; 1864:183897. [PMID: 35231438 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2022.183897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2021] [Revised: 02/09/2022] [Accepted: 02/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Our understanding of the role of membrane tension in the field of membrane biophysics is rapidly evolving from a passive construct to an active player in a variety of cellular phenomena. Membrane tension has been shown to be a key regulator of many cellular processes ranging including trafficking, ion channel activation, and the invasion of red blood cells by malaria parasites. Recent experimental advances in cells, including the development of a fluorescent tension reporter, have shown that membrane tension is heterogeneous. In this mini-review, I summarize the recent advances in membrane tension measurements and discuss the contributions from different cellular constituents such as the cortical cytoskeleton. Then, I will explore how these different complexities can be considered in biophysical models of different scales. Finally, I will elaborate on the need for iterations between models and experiments as technologies in both fields advance to enable us to obtain critical insights into the physiological role of membrane tension as a critical component of mechanotransduction.
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Saraswathibhatla A, Zhang J, Notbohm J. Coordination of contractile tension and cell area changes in an epithelial cell monolayer. Phys Rev E 2022; 105:024404. [PMID: 35291100 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.105.024404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2021] [Accepted: 02/01/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
During tissue development and repair, cells contract and expand in coordination with their neighbors, giving rise to tissue deformations that occur on length scales far larger than that of a single cell. The biophysical mechanisms by which the contractile forces of each cell cause deformations on multicellular length scales are not fully clear. To investigate this question, we began with the principle of force equilibrium, which dictates a balance of tensile forces between neighboring cells. Based on this principle, we hypothesized that coordinated changes in cell area result from tension transmitted across the cell layer. To test this hypothesis, spatial correlations of both contractile tension and the divergence of cell velocities were measured as readouts of coordinated contractility and collective area changes, respectively. Experiments were designed to alter the spatial correlation of contractile tension using three different methods, including disrupting cell-cell adhesions, modulating the alignment of actomyosin stress fibers between neighboring cells, and changing the size of the cell monolayer. In all experiments, the spatial correlations of both tension and divergence increased or decreased together, in agreement with our hypothesis. To relate our findings to the intracellular mechanism connecting changes in cell area to contractile tension, we disrupted activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), which is known to mediate the intracellular relationship between cell area and contraction. Consistent with prior knowledge, a temporal cross-correlation between cell area and tension revealed that ERK was responsible for a proportional relationship between cell area and contraction. Inhibition of ERK activation reduced the spatial correlations of the divergence of cell velocity but not of tension. Together, our findings suggest that coordination of cell contraction and expansion requires transfer of cell tension over space and ERK-mediated coordination between cell area and contraction in time.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jun Zhang
- Department of Engineering Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA
- Biophysics Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA
| | - Jacob Notbohm
- Department of Engineering Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA
- Biophysics Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA
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Configurational fingerprints of multicellular living systems. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2109168118. [PMID: 34716269 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2109168118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2021] [Accepted: 09/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Cells cooperate as groups to achieve structure and function at the tissue level, during which specific material characteristics emerge. Analogous to phase transitions in classical physics, transformations in the material characteristics of multicellular assemblies are essential for a variety of vital processes including morphogenesis, wound healing, and cancer. In this work, we develop configurational fingerprints of particulate and multicellular assemblies and extract volumetric and shear order parameters based on this fingerprint to quantify the system disorder. Theoretically, these two parameters form a complete and unique pair of signatures for the structural disorder of a multicellular system. The evolution of these two order parameters offers a robust and experimentally accessible way to map the phase transitions in expanding cell monolayers and during embryogenesis and invasion of epithelial spheroids.
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Roffay C, Chan CJ, Guirao B, Hiiragi T, Graner F. Inferring cell junction tension and pressure from cell geometry. Development 2021; 148:148/18/dev192773. [PMID: 33712442 DOI: 10.1242/dev.192773] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Recognizing the crucial role of mechanical regulation and forces in tissue development and homeostasis has stirred a demand for in situ measurement of forces and stresses. Among emerging techniques, the use of cell geometry to infer cell junction tensions, cell pressures and tissue stress has gained popularity owing to the development of computational analyses. This approach is non-destructive and fast, and statistically validated based on comparisons with other techniques. However, its qualitative and quantitative limitations, in theory as well as in practice, should be examined with care. In this Primer, we summarize the underlying principles and assumptions behind stress inference, discuss its validity criteria and provide guidance to help beginners make the appropriate choice of its variants. We extend our discussion from two-dimensional stress inference to three dimensional, using the early mouse embryo as an example, and list a few possible extensions. We hope to make stress inference more accessible to the scientific community and trigger a broader interest in using this technique to study mechanics in development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chloé Roffay
- Matière et Systèmes Complexes, Université de Paris - Diderot, CNRS UMR7057, 10 rue Alice Domon et Léonie Duquet, F-75205 Paris Cedex 13, France.,Polarity, Division and Morphogenesis Team, Genetics and Developmental Biology Unit, (CNRS UMR3215/Inserm U934), Institut Curie, F-75248 Paris Cedex 05, France
| | - Chii J Chan
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Boris Guirao
- Polarity, Division and Morphogenesis Team, Genetics and Developmental Biology Unit, (CNRS UMR3215/Inserm U934), Institut Curie, F-75248 Paris Cedex 05, France
| | - Takashi Hiiragi
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany.,Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Biology (WPI-ASHBi), Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
| | - François Graner
- Matière et Systèmes Complexes, Université de Paris - Diderot, CNRS UMR7057, 10 rue Alice Domon et Léonie Duquet, F-75205 Paris Cedex 13, France
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Gómez-Gálvez P, Vicente-Munuera P, Anbari S, Buceta J, Escudero LM. The complex three-dimensional organization of epithelial tissues. Development 2021; 148:148/1/dev195669. [PMID: 33408064 DOI: 10.1242/dev.195669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the cellular organization of tissues is key to developmental biology. In order to deal with this complex problem, researchers have taken advantage of reductionist approaches to reveal fundamental morphogenetic mechanisms and quantitative laws. For epithelia, their two-dimensional representation as polygonal tessellations has proved successful for understanding tissue organization. Yet, epithelial tissues bend and fold to shape organs in three dimensions. In this context, epithelial cells are too often simplified as prismatic blocks with a limited plasticity. However, there is increasing evidence that a realistic approach, even from a reductionist perspective, must include apico-basal intercalations (i.e. scutoidal cell shapes) for explaining epithelial organization convincingly. Here, we present an historical perspective about the tissue organization problem. Specifically, we analyze past and recent breakthroughs, and discuss how and why simplified, but realistic, in silico models require scutoidal features to address key morphogenetic events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pedro Gómez-Gálvez
- Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla (IBiS), Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío/CSIC/Universidad de Sevilla and Departamento de Biología Celular, Universidad de Sevilla, 41013 Seville, Spain.,Biomedical Network Research Centre on Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED), 28031 Madrid, Spain
| | - Pablo Vicente-Munuera
- Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla (IBiS), Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío/CSIC/Universidad de Sevilla and Departamento de Biología Celular, Universidad de Sevilla, 41013 Seville, Spain.,Biomedical Network Research Centre on Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED), 28031 Madrid, Spain
| | - Samira Anbari
- Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA 18018, USA
| | - Javier Buceta
- Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio), CSIC-UV, 46980 Paterna (Valencia), Spain
| | - Luis M Escudero
- Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla (IBiS), Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío/CSIC/Universidad de Sevilla and Departamento de Biología Celular, Universidad de Sevilla, 41013 Seville, Spain .,Biomedical Network Research Centre on Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED), 28031 Madrid, Spain
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Alimohamadi H, Smith AS, Nowak RB, Fowler VM, Rangamani P. Non-uniform distribution of myosin-mediated forces governs red blood cell membrane curvature through tension modulation. PLoS Comput Biol 2020; 16:e1007890. [PMID: 32453720 PMCID: PMC7274484 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1007890] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2019] [Revised: 06/05/2020] [Accepted: 04/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The biconcave disk shape of the mammalian red blood cell (RBC) is unique to the RBC and is vital for its circulatory function. Due to the absence of a transcellular cytoskeleton, RBC shape is determined by the membrane skeleton, a network of actin filaments cross-linked by spectrin and attached to membrane proteins. While the physical properties of a uniformly distributed actin network interacting with the lipid bilayer membrane have been assumed to control RBC shape, recent experiments reveal that RBC biconcave shape also depends on the contractile activity of nonmuscle myosin IIA (NMIIA) motor proteins. Here, we use the classical Helfrich-Canham model for the RBC membrane to test the role of heterogeneous force distributions along the membrane and mimic the contractile activity of sparsely distributed NMIIA filaments. By incorporating this additional contribution to the Helfrich-Canham energy, we find that the RBC biconcave shape depends on the ratio of forces per unit volume in the dimple and rim regions of the RBC. Experimental measurements of NMIIA densities at the dimple and rim validate our prediction that (a) membrane forces must be non-uniform along the RBC membrane and (b) the force density must be larger in the dimple than the rim to produce the observed membrane curvatures. Furthermore, we predict that RBC membrane tension and the orientation of the applied forces play important roles in regulating this force-shape landscape. Our findings of heterogeneous force distributions on the plasma membrane for RBC shape maintenance may also have implications for shape maintenance in different cell types. The spectrin-actin network of the membrane skeleton plays an important role in controlling specialized cell membrane morphology. In the paradigmatic red blood cell (RBC), where actin filaments are present exclusively in the membrane skeleton, recent experiments reveal that nonmuscle myosin IIA (NMIIA) motor contractility maintains the RBC biconcave disk shape. In this study, we have identified criteria for micron-scale distributions of NMIIA forces at the membrane required to maintain the biconcave disk shape of an RBC in the resting condition. Supported by experimental measurements of RBC NMIIA distribution, we showed that a heterogeneous force distribution with a larger force density at the dimple is able to capture the experimentally observed biconcave morphology of an RBC with better accuracy compared to previous models that did not consider the heterogeneity in the force distribution. Furthermore, we showed that the biconcave geometry of the RBC is closely regulated by the effective membrane tension and the direction of applied forces on the membrane. These findings can be generalized to any force-mediated membrane shape, providing insight into the role of actomyosin forces in prescribing and maintaining the morphology of different cell types.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haleh Alimohamadi
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Alyson S. Smith
- Department of Molecular Medicine, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Roberta B. Nowak
- Department of Molecular Medicine, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Velia M. Fowler
- Department of Molecular Medicine, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, United States of America
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, United States of America
| | - Padmini Rangamani
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Vasan R, Rowan MP, Lee CT, Johnson GR, Rangamani P, Holst M. Applications and Challenges of Machine Learning to Enable Realistic Cellular Simulations. FRONTIERS IN PHYSICS 2020; 7:247. [PMID: 36188416 PMCID: PMC9521042 DOI: 10.3389/fphy.2019.00247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
In this perspective, we examine three key aspects of an end-to-end pipeline for realistic cellular simulations: reconstruction and segmentation of cellular structures; generation of cellular structures; and mesh generation, simulation, and data analysis. We highlight some of the relevant prior work in these distinct but overlapping areas, with a particular emphasis on current use of machine learning technologies, as well as on future opportunities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ritvik Vasan
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Meagan P. Rowan
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Christopher T. Lee
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | | | - Padmini Rangamani
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Michael Holst
- Department of Mathematics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
- Department of Physics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
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