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Abstract
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The ability of cells to take and
change shape is a fundamental
feature underlying development, wound repair, and tissue maintenance.
Central to this process is physical and signaling interactions between
the three cytoskeletal polymeric networks: F-actin, microtubules,
and intermediate filaments (IFs). Vimentin is an IF protein that is
essential to the mechanical resilience of cells and regulates cross-talk
among the cytoskeleton, but its role in how cells sense and respond
to the surrounding extracellular matrix is largely unclear. To investigate
vimentin’s role in substrate sensing, we designed polyacrylamide
hydrogels that mimic the elastic and viscoelastic nature of in vivo tissues. Using wild-type and vimentin-null mouse
embryonic fibroblasts, we show that vimentin enhances cell spreading
on viscoelastic substrates, even though it has little effect in the
limit of purely elastic substrates. Our results provide compelling
evidence that vimentin modulates how cells sense and respond to their
environment and thus plays a key role in cell mechanosensing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maxx Swoger
- Physics Department, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13244, United States.,BioInspired Institute, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13244, United States
| | - Sarthak Gupta
- Physics Department, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13244, United States.,BioInspired Institute, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13244, United States
| | - Elisabeth E Charrier
- Institute of Medicine and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 13210, United States
| | - Michael Bates
- Biology Department, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13244, United States
| | - Heidi Hehnly
- Biology Department, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13244, United States
| | - Alison E Patteson
- Physics Department, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13244, United States.,BioInspired Institute, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13244, United States
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2
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Pogoda K, Charrier EE, Janmey PA. A Novel Method to Make Polyacrylamide Gels with Mechanical Properties Resembling those of Biological Tissues. Bio Protoc 2021; 11:e4131. [PMID: 34541049 DOI: 10.21769/bioprotoc.4131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2020] [Revised: 04/05/2021] [Accepted: 05/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies characterizing how cells respond to the mechanical properties of their environment have been enabled by the use of soft elastomers and hydrogels as substrates for cell culture. A limitation of most such substrates is that, although their elastic properties can be accurately controlled, their viscous properties cannot, and cells respond to both elasticity and viscosity in the extracellular material to which they bind. Some approaches to endow soft substrates with viscosity as well as elasticity are based on coupling static and dynamic crosslinks in series within polymer networks or forming gels with a combination of sparse chemical crosslinks and steric entanglements. These materials form viscoelastic fluids that have revealed significant effects of viscous dissipation on cell function; however, they do not completely capture the mechanical features of soft solid tissues. In this report, we describe a method to make viscoelastic solids that more closely mimic some soft tissues using a combination of crosslinked networks and entrapped linear polymers. Both the elastic and viscous moduli of these substrates can be altered separately, and methods to attach cells to either the elastic or the viscous part of the network are described. Graphic abstract: Polyacrylamide gels with independently controlled elasticity and viscosity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katarzyna Pogoda
- Institute of Nuclear Physics Polish Academy of Sciences, PL-31342, Krakow, Poland
| | - Elisabeth E Charrier
- Department of Physiology, Institute for Medicine and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Paul A Janmey
- Department of Physiology, Institute for Medicine and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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3
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Charrier EE, Pogoda K, Li R, Park CY, Fredberg JJ, Janmey PA. A novel method to make viscoelastic polyacrylamide gels for cell culture and traction force microscopy. APL Bioeng 2020; 4:036104. [PMID: 32666015 PMCID: PMC7334032 DOI: 10.1063/5.0002750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2020] [Accepted: 05/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Polyacrylamide hydrogels are commonly used in cell biology, notably to cultivate cells on soft surfaces. Polyacrylamide gels are purely elastic and well adapted to cell culture as they are inert and can be conjugated with adhesion proteins. Here, we report a method to make viscoelastic polyacrylamide gels with mechanical properties more closely resembling biological tissues and suitable for cell culture in vitro. We demonstrate that these gels can be used for traction force microscopy experiments. We also show that multiple cell types respond to the viscoelasticity of their substrate and that viscous dissipation has an influence on cell spreading, contractility, and motility. This new material provides new opportunities for investigating how normal or malignant cells sense and respond to viscous dissipation within the extra-cellular matrix.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Robin Li
- Institute for Medicine and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
| | - Chan Young Park
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
| | - Jeffrey J. Fredberg
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
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4
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Patteson AE, Pogoda K, Byfield FJ, Mandal K, Ostrowska-Podhorodecka Z, Charrier EE, Galie PA, Deptuła P, Bucki R, McCulloch CA, Janmey PA. Loss of Vimentin Enhances Cell Motility through Small Confining Spaces. Small 2019; 15:e1903180. [PMID: 31721440 PMCID: PMC6910987 DOI: 10.1002/smll.201903180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2019] [Revised: 09/22/2019] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
The migration of cells through constricting spaces or along fibrous tracks in tissues is important for many biological processes and depends on the mechanical properties of a cytoskeleton made up of three different filaments: F-actin, microtubules, and intermediate filaments. The signaling pathways and cytoskeletal structures that control cell motility on 2D are often very different from those that control motility in 3D. Previous studies have shown that intermediate filaments can promote actin-driven protrusions at the cell edge, but have little effect on overall motility of cells on flat surfaces. They are however important for cells to maintain resistance to repeated compressive stresses that are expected to occur in vivo. Using mouse embryonic fibroblasts derived from wild-type and vimentin-null mice, it is found that loss of vimentin increases motility in 3D microchannels even though on flat surfaces it has the opposite effect. Atomic force microscopy and traction force microscopy experiments reveal that vimentin enhances perinuclear cell stiffness while maintaining the same level of acto-myosin contractility in cells. A minimal model in which a perinuclear vimentin cage constricts along with the nucleus during motility through confining spaces, providing mechanical resistance against large strains that could damage the structural integrity of cells, is proposed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison E. Patteson
- Institute for Medicine and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104
- Physics Department, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244
| | - Katarzyna Pogoda
- Institute for Medicine and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104
- Institute of Nuclear Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, PL-31342 Krakow, Poland
| | - Fitzroy J. Byfield
- Institute for Medicine and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104
| | - Kalpana Mandal
- Institute for Medicine and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104
| | | | - Elisabeth E. Charrier
- Institute for Medicine and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104
| | - Peter A. Galie
- Institute for Medicine and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ 08028
| | - Piotr Deptuła
- Department of Microbiological and Nanobiomedical Engineering, Medical University of Białystok, Mickiewicza 2C, Białystok, Poland
| | - Robert Bucki
- Department of Microbiological and Nanobiomedical Engineering, Medical University of Białystok, Mickiewicza 2C, Białystok, Poland
| | | | - Paul A. Janmey
- Institute for Medicine and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104
- Departments of Physiology and Physics & Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104
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5
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Charrier EE, Montel L, Asnacios A, Delort F, Vicart P, Gallet F, Batonnet-Pichon S, Hénon S. The desmin network is a determinant of the cytoplasmic stiffness of myoblasts. Biol Cell 2018; 110:77-90. [PMID: 29388701 DOI: 10.1111/boc.201700040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2017] [Accepted: 01/18/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND INFORMATION The mechanical properties of cells are essential to maintain their proper functions, and mainly rely on their cytoskeleton. A lot of attention has been paid to actin filaments, demonstrating their central role in the cells mechanical properties, but much less is known about the participation of intermediate filament (IF) networks. Indeed the contribution of IFs, such as vimentin, keratins and lamins, to cell mechanics has only been assessed recently. We study here the involvement of desmin, an IF specifically expressed in muscle cells, in the rheology of immature muscle cells. Desmin can carry mutations responsible for a class of muscle pathologies named desminopathies. RESULTS In this study, using three types of cell rheometers, we assess the consequences of expressing wild-type (WT) or mutated desmin on the rheological properties of single myoblasts. We find that the mechanical properties of the cell cortex are not correlated to the quantity, nor the quality of desmin expressed. On the contrary, the overall cell stiffness increases when the amount of WT or mutated desmin polymerised in cytoplasmic networks increases. However, myoblasts become softer when the desmin network is partially depleted by the formation of aggregates induced by the expression of a desmin mutant. CONCLUSIONS We demonstrate that desmin plays a negligible role in the mechanical properties of the cell cortex but is a determinant of the overall cell stiffness. More particularly, desmin participates to the cytoplasm viscoelasticity. SIGNIFICANCE Desminopathies are associated with muscular weaknesses attributed to a disorganisation of the structure of striated muscle that impairs the active force generation. The present study evidences for the first time the key role of desmin in the rheological properties of myoblasts, raising the hypothesis that desmin mutations could also alter the passive mechanical properties of muscles, thus participating to the lack of force build up in muscle tissue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisabeth E Charrier
- Université Paris Diderot, CNRS, Matière et Systèmes Complexes UMR 7057, Paris, F-75013, France.,Université Paris Diderot, CNRS, Unité de Biologie Fonctionnelle et Adaptative, UMR 8251, Paris, F-75013, France.,Institute for Medicine and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Lorraine Montel
- Université Paris Diderot, CNRS, Matière et Systèmes Complexes UMR 7057, Paris, F-75013, France.,Département de Chimie, École Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, Paris, F-75005, France.,Sorbonne Universités, UPMC, PASTEUR, Paris, F-75005, France.,CNRS, UMR 8640 PASTEUR, Paris, F-75005, France
| | - Atef Asnacios
- Université Paris Diderot, CNRS, Matière et Systèmes Complexes UMR 7057, Paris, F-75013, France
| | - Florence Delort
- Université Paris Diderot, CNRS, Unité de Biologie Fonctionnelle et Adaptative, UMR 8251, Paris, F-75013, France
| | - Patrick Vicart
- Université Paris Diderot, CNRS, Unité de Biologie Fonctionnelle et Adaptative, UMR 8251, Paris, F-75013, France
| | - François Gallet
- Université Paris Diderot, CNRS, Matière et Systèmes Complexes UMR 7057, Paris, F-75013, France
| | - Sabrina Batonnet-Pichon
- Université Paris Diderot, CNRS, Unité de Biologie Fonctionnelle et Adaptative, UMR 8251, Paris, F-75013, France
| | - Sylvie Hénon
- Université Paris Diderot, CNRS, Matière et Systèmes Complexes UMR 7057, Paris, F-75013, France
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Charrier EE, Pogoda K, Wells RG, Janmey PA. Control of cell morphology and differentiation by substrates with independently tunable elasticity and viscous dissipation. Nat Commun 2018; 9:449. [PMID: 29386514 PMCID: PMC5792430 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-02906-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 212] [Impact Index Per Article: 35.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2017] [Accepted: 01/05/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The mechanical properties of extracellular matrices can control the function of cells. Studies of cellular responses to biomimetic soft materials have been largely restricted to hydrogels and elastomers that have stiffness values independent of time and extent of deformation, so the substrate stiffness can be unambiguously related to its effect on cells. Real tissues, however, often have loss moduli that are 10 to 20% of their elastic moduli and behave as viscoelastic solids. The response of cells to a time-dependent viscous loss is largely uncharacterized because appropriate viscoelastic materials are lacking for quantitative studies. Here we report the synthesis of soft viscoelastic solids in which the elastic and viscous moduli can be independently tuned to produce gels with viscoelastic properties that closely resemble those of soft tissues. Systematic alteration of the hydrogel viscosity demonstrates the time dependence of cellular mechanosensing and the influence of viscous dissipation on cell phenotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisabeth E Charrier
- Institute for Medicine and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, 3340 Smith Walk, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
- Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 421 Curie Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
| | - Katarzyna Pogoda
- Institute for Medicine and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, 3340 Smith Walk, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Institute of Nuclear Physics Polish Academy of Sciences, PL-31342, Krakow, Poland
| | - Rebecca G Wells
- Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 421 Curie Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Paul A Janmey
- Institute for Medicine and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, 3340 Smith Walk, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
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Charrier EE, Asnacios A, Milloud R, De Mets R, Balland M, Delort F, Cardoso O, Vicart P, Batonnet-Pichon S, Hénon S. Desmin Mutation in the C-Terminal Domain Impairs Traction Force Generation in Myoblasts. Biophys J 2016; 110:470-480. [PMID: 26789769 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2015.11.3518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2015] [Revised: 11/06/2015] [Accepted: 11/23/2015] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The cytoskeleton plays a key role in the ability of cells to both resist mechanical stress and generate force, but the precise involvement of intermediate filaments in these processes remains unclear. We focus here on desmin, a type III intermediate filament, which is specifically expressed in muscle cells and serves as a skeletal muscle differentiation marker. By using several complementary experimental techniques, we have investigated the impact of overexpressing desmin and expressing a mutant desmin on the passive and active mechanical properties of C2C12 myoblasts. We first show that the overexpression of wild-type-desmin increases the overall rigidity of the cells, whereas the expression of a mutated E413K desmin does not. This mutation in the desmin gene is one of those leading to desminopathies, a subgroup of myopathies associated with progressive muscular weakness that are characterized by the presence of desmin aggregates and a disorganization of sarcomeres. We show that the expression of this mutant desmin in C2C12 myoblasts induces desmin network disorganization, desmin aggregate formation, and a small decrease in the number and total length of stress fibers. We finally demonstrate that expression of the E413K mutant desmin also alters the traction forces generation of single myoblasts lacking organized sarcomeres.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisabeth E Charrier
- Unité de Biologie Fonctionnelle et Adaptative, Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, CNRS, UMR 8251, Paris, France; Matière et Systèmes Complexes, Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, CNRS, UMR 7057, Paris, France
| | - Atef Asnacios
- Matière et Systèmes Complexes, Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, CNRS, UMR 7057, Paris, France
| | - Rachel Milloud
- LIPhy Université Grenoble 1, CNRS, UMR 5588, Grenoble, France
| | - Richard De Mets
- LIPhy Université Grenoble 1, CNRS, UMR 5588, Grenoble, France
| | - Martial Balland
- LIPhy Université Grenoble 1, CNRS, UMR 5588, Grenoble, France
| | - Florence Delort
- Unité de Biologie Fonctionnelle et Adaptative, Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, CNRS, UMR 8251, Paris, France
| | - Olivier Cardoso
- Matière et Systèmes Complexes, Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, CNRS, UMR 7057, Paris, France
| | - Patrick Vicart
- Unité de Biologie Fonctionnelle et Adaptative, Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, CNRS, UMR 8251, Paris, France
| | - Sabrina Batonnet-Pichon
- Unité de Biologie Fonctionnelle et Adaptative, Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, CNRS, UMR 8251, Paris, France
| | - Sylvie Hénon
- Matière et Systèmes Complexes, Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, CNRS, UMR 7057, Paris, France.
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Abstract
Purified intermediate filament (IF) proteins can be reassembled in vitro to produce polymers closely resembling those found in cells, and these filaments form viscoelastic gels. The cross-links holding IFs together in the network include specific bonds between polypeptides extending from the filament surface and ionic interactions mediated by divalent cations. IF networks exhibit striking nonlinear elasticity with stiffness, as quantified by shear modulus, increasing an order of magnitude as the networks are deformed to large strains resembling those that soft tissues undergo in vivo. Individual IFs can be stretched to more than two or three times their resting length without breaking. At least 10 different rheometric methods have been used to quantify the viscoelasticity of IF networks over a wide range of timescales and strain magnitudes. The mechanical roles of different classes of cytoplasmic IFs on mesenchymal and epithelial cells in culture have also been studied by an even wider range of microrheological methods. These studies have documented the effects on cell mechanics when IFs are genetically or pharmacologically disrupted or when normal or mutant IF proteins are exogenously expressed in cells. Consistent with in vitro rheology, the mechanical role of IFs is more apparent as cells are subjected to larger and more frequent deformations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisabeth E Charrier
- Institute for Medicine and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Paul A Janmey
- Institute for Medicine and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
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