Three-dimensional quantification of cellular traction forces and mechanosensing of thin substrata by fourier traction force microscopy.

We introduce a novel three-dimensional (3D) traction force microscopy (TFM) method motivated by the recent discovery that cells adhering on plane surfaces exert both in-plane and out-of-plane traction stresses. We measure the 3D deformation of the substratum on a thin layer near its surface, and inp...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Juan C del Álamo, Ruedi Meili, Begoña Álvarez-González, Baldomero Alonso-Latorre, Effie Bastounis, Richard Firtel, Juan C Lasheras
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2013-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0069850
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850128386144337920
author Juan C del Álamo
Ruedi Meili
Begoña Álvarez-González
Baldomero Alonso-Latorre
Effie Bastounis
Richard Firtel
Juan C Lasheras
author_facet Juan C del Álamo
Ruedi Meili
Begoña Álvarez-González
Baldomero Alonso-Latorre
Effie Bastounis
Richard Firtel
Juan C Lasheras
author_sort Juan C del Álamo
collection DOAJ
description We introduce a novel three-dimensional (3D) traction force microscopy (TFM) method motivated by the recent discovery that cells adhering on plane surfaces exert both in-plane and out-of-plane traction stresses. We measure the 3D deformation of the substratum on a thin layer near its surface, and input this information into an exact analytical solution of the elastic equilibrium equation. These operations are performed in the Fourier domain with high computational efficiency, allowing to obtain the 3D traction stresses from raw microscopy images virtually in real time. We also characterize the error of previous two-dimensional (2D) TFM methods that neglect the out-of-plane component of the traction stresses. This analysis reveals that, under certain combinations of experimental parameters (cell size, substratums' thickness and Poisson's ratio), the accuracy of 2D TFM methods is minimally affected by neglecting the out-of-plane component of the traction stresses. Finally, we consider the cell's mechanosensing of substratum thickness by 3D traction stresses, finding that, when cells adhere on thin substrata, their out-of-plane traction stresses can reach four times deeper into the substratum than their in-plane traction stresses. It is also found that the substratum stiffness sensed by applying out-of-plane traction stresses may be up to 10 times larger than the stiffness sensed by applying in-plane traction stresses.
format Article
id doaj-art-b88e9891dcea49e397f665003b71c15b
institution OA Journals
issn 1932-6203
language English
publishDate 2013-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS ONE
spelling doaj-art-b88e9891dcea49e397f665003b71c15b2025-08-20T02:33:19ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032013-01-0189e6985010.1371/journal.pone.0069850Three-dimensional quantification of cellular traction forces and mechanosensing of thin substrata by fourier traction force microscopy.Juan C del ÁlamoRuedi MeiliBegoña Álvarez-GonzálezBaldomero Alonso-LatorreEffie BastounisRichard FirtelJuan C LasherasWe introduce a novel three-dimensional (3D) traction force microscopy (TFM) method motivated by the recent discovery that cells adhering on plane surfaces exert both in-plane and out-of-plane traction stresses. We measure the 3D deformation of the substratum on a thin layer near its surface, and input this information into an exact analytical solution of the elastic equilibrium equation. These operations are performed in the Fourier domain with high computational efficiency, allowing to obtain the 3D traction stresses from raw microscopy images virtually in real time. We also characterize the error of previous two-dimensional (2D) TFM methods that neglect the out-of-plane component of the traction stresses. This analysis reveals that, under certain combinations of experimental parameters (cell size, substratums' thickness and Poisson's ratio), the accuracy of 2D TFM methods is minimally affected by neglecting the out-of-plane component of the traction stresses. Finally, we consider the cell's mechanosensing of substratum thickness by 3D traction stresses, finding that, when cells adhere on thin substrata, their out-of-plane traction stresses can reach four times deeper into the substratum than their in-plane traction stresses. It is also found that the substratum stiffness sensed by applying out-of-plane traction stresses may be up to 10 times larger than the stiffness sensed by applying in-plane traction stresses.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0069850
spellingShingle Juan C del Álamo
Ruedi Meili
Begoña Álvarez-González
Baldomero Alonso-Latorre
Effie Bastounis
Richard Firtel
Juan C Lasheras
Three-dimensional quantification of cellular traction forces and mechanosensing of thin substrata by fourier traction force microscopy.
PLoS ONE
title Three-dimensional quantification of cellular traction forces and mechanosensing of thin substrata by fourier traction force microscopy.
title_full Three-dimensional quantification of cellular traction forces and mechanosensing of thin substrata by fourier traction force microscopy.
title_fullStr Three-dimensional quantification of cellular traction forces and mechanosensing of thin substrata by fourier traction force microscopy.
title_full_unstemmed Three-dimensional quantification of cellular traction forces and mechanosensing of thin substrata by fourier traction force microscopy.
title_short Three-dimensional quantification of cellular traction forces and mechanosensing of thin substrata by fourier traction force microscopy.
title_sort three dimensional quantification of cellular traction forces and mechanosensing of thin substrata by fourier traction force microscopy
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0069850
work_keys_str_mv AT juancdelalamo threedimensionalquantificationofcellulartractionforcesandmechanosensingofthinsubstratabyfouriertractionforcemicroscopy
AT ruedimeili threedimensionalquantificationofcellulartractionforcesandmechanosensingofthinsubstratabyfouriertractionforcemicroscopy
AT begonaalvarezgonzalez threedimensionalquantificationofcellulartractionforcesandmechanosensingofthinsubstratabyfouriertractionforcemicroscopy
AT baldomeroalonsolatorre threedimensionalquantificationofcellulartractionforcesandmechanosensingofthinsubstratabyfouriertractionforcemicroscopy
AT effiebastounis threedimensionalquantificationofcellulartractionforcesandmechanosensingofthinsubstratabyfouriertractionforcemicroscopy
AT richardfirtel threedimensionalquantificationofcellulartractionforcesandmechanosensingofthinsubstratabyfouriertractionforcemicroscopy
AT juanclasheras threedimensionalquantificationofcellulartractionforcesandmechanosensingofthinsubstratabyfouriertractionforcemicroscopy