Biomimetic emulsions reveal the effect of mechanical forces on cell–cell adhesion

Cell–cell contacts in tissues are continuously subject to mechanical forces due to homeostatic pressure and active cytoskeleton dynamics. In the process of cellular adhesion, the molecular pathways are well characterized but the role of mechanics is less well understood. To isolate the role of press...

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Published inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 109; no. 25; pp. 9839 - 9844
Main Authors Pontani, Lea-Laetitia, Jorjadze, Ivane, Viasnoff, Virgile, Brujic, Jasna
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States National Academy of Sciences 19.06.2012
National Acad Sciences
Subjects
Adhesion
Adhesives
Biological Sciences
Biomimetics
Cell Adhesion
Cell adhesion & migration
Cytoskeleton
droplets
electrostatic interactions
Electrostatics
Emulsions
Interfacial tension
Lipids
mechanics
Microstructure
Modeling
Phase diagrams
Physical Sciences
Pressure
salt concentration
surface interactions
Three dimensional imaging
tissues
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Summary:Cell–cell contacts in tissues are continuously subject to mechanical forces due to homeostatic pressure and active cytoskeleton dynamics. In the process of cellular adhesion, the molecular pathways are well characterized but the role of mechanics is less well understood. To isolate the role of pressure we present a dense packing of functionalized emulsion droplets in which surface interactions are tuned to mimic those of real cells. By visualizing the microstructure in 3D we find that a threshold compression force is necessary to overcome electrostatic repulsion and surface elasticity and establish protein-mediated adhesion. Varying the droplet interaction potential maps out a phase diagram for adhesion as a function of force and salt concentration. Remarkably, fitting the data with our theoretical model predicts binder concentrations in the adhesion areas that are similar to those found in real cells. Moreover, we quantify the dependence of the area of adhesion on the applied force and thus reveal adhesion strengthening with increasing external pressure even in the absence of active cellular processes. This biomimetic approach reveals a physical origin of pressure-sensitive adhesion and its strength across cell–cell junctions.
Bibliography:http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1201499109
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Author contributions: L.-L.P. and J.B. designed research; L.-L.P. performed research; L.-L.P., I.J., V.V., and J.B. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; L.-L.P., I.J., V.V., and J.B. analyzed data; and L.-L.P. and J.B. wrote the paper.
Edited by William A. Eaton, National Institutes of Health–NIDDK, Bethesda, MD, and approved May 8, 2012 (received for review January 27, 2012)
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.1201499109