Single cell force generation in 3D biological gels
It is now clear that cell generated tension critically regulates cell function within a 3D architecture. In contrast to synthetic gels, fibrous biological gels align and remodel when subjected to stress; and cells utilizes the complex properties of biological gels to perform physiologically realistic function. In this talk, I will first outline how we control the microstructure, nonlinear elasticity and plasticity of collagen gels by varying gel polymerizing conditions (e. g. cross linking with ribose, temperature ramping). I will then present a single cell traction force microscopy that enables us to probe cell generated traction force within 3D collagen architecture. Lastly, I will show that mechanical properties of gels critically regulate single cell force generation. I will discuss the implications of a power law relationship between cell force and gel stiffness discovered in this study and challenges for understanding cell –ECM interactions in the context of biological gels.
This work is in collaboration with Matthew S. Hall, XinZeng Feng, Herbert Hui, Larry Bonassar at the Cornell College of Engineering.
Bio
Mingming Wu received her PhD in Physics from the Ohio State University in 1992, and was a postdoctoral researcher at Ecole Polytechnique in France in year 1992 and University of California at Santa Barbara in 1993- 1995. She became an assistant/associate professor in the physics department at Occidental College in Los Angeles in year 1996-2003. She joined Cornell College of Engineering in year 2003. Currently, she is an associate professor in the Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University. Her current research interests are in the general direction of microscale bioengineering including cell migration, microfluidics and optical imaging.