Filters

2021 - 20222

More filters

20222
Reset filters

Settings

Subject: stiffness × WGL Institute: INM ×

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    T cell stiffness is enhanced upon formation of immunological synapse
    (Cambridge : eLife Sciences Publications, 2021) Jung, Philipp; Zhou, Xiangda; Iden, Sandra; Bischoff, Markus; Qu, Bin
    T cells are activated by target cells via an intimate contact, termed immunological synapse (IS). Cellular mechanical properties, especially stiffness, are essential to regulate cell functions. However, T cell stiffness at a subcellular level at the IS still remains largely elusive. In this work, we established an atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based elasticity mapping method on whole T cells to obtain an overview of the stiffness with a resolution of ~60 nm. Using primary human CD4+ T cells, we show that when T cells form IS with stimulating antibody-coated surfaces, the lamellipodia are stiffer than the cell body. Upon IS formation, T cell stiffness is enhanced both at the lamellipodia and on the cell body. Chelation of intracellular Ca2+ abolishes IS-induced stiffening at the lamellipodia but has no influence on cell-body-stiffening, suggesting different regulatory mechanisms of IS-induced stiffening at the lamellipodia and the cell body.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Vitronectin-based hydrogels recapitulate neuroblastoma growth conditions
    (Lausanne : Frontiers Media, 2022) Monferrer, Ezequiel; Dobre, Oana; Trujillo, Sara; González Oliva, Mariana Azevedo; Trubert-Paneli, Alexandre; Acevedo-León, Delia; Noguera, Rosa; Salmeron-Sanchez, Manuel
    The tumor microenvironment plays an important role in cancer development and the use of 3D in vitro systems that decouple different elements of this microenvironment is critical for the study of cancer progression. In neuroblastoma (NB), vitronectin (VN), an extracellular matrix protein, has been linked to poor prognosis and appears as a promising therapeutic target. Here, we developed hydrogels that incorporate VN into 3D polyethylene glycol (PEG) hydrogel networks to recapitulate the native NB microenvironment. The stiffness of the VN/PEG hydrogels was modulated to be comparable to the in vivo values reported for NB tissue samples. We used SK-N-BE (2) NB cells to demonstrate that PEGylated VN promotes cell adhesion as the native protein does. Furthermore, the PEGylation of VN allows its crosslinking into the hydrogel network, providing VN retention within the hydrogels that support viable cells in 3D. Confocal imaging and ELISA assays indicate that cells secrete VN also in the hydrogels and continue to reorganize their 3D environment. Overall, the 3D VN-based PEG hydrogels recapitulate the complexity of the native tumor extracellular matrix, showing that VN-cell interaction plays a key role in NB aggressiveness, and that VN could potentially be targeted in preclinical drug studies performed on the presented hydrogels.