Cells, Forces, and the Microenvironment

With the recent development of new experimental approaches and methodologies, it is becoming clear that cells and tissues are not regulated by biochemical signals alone. Indeed, physical cues arising in the biological microenvironment are directly coupled to the biochemical regulation of living systems. This book provides a broad overview of how mechanical forces and properties govern diverse aspects of physiological and pathological processes. It also covers new emerging techniques developed to study complex biosystems such as microfluidics, traction force microscopy, and the development of novel biomaterials for tissue engineering. Importantly, the chapters in this book are not limited to applications in animal cell biology but also cover important dimensions in other kingdoms such as plants and bacteria. The aim is to provide a comprehensive overview of the roles that physical cues play in governing diverse forms of life, with an eye on the development of fundamental new knowledge, potential applications in biosensors, and novel biomedical technologies.

Micromechanical Cues Converging on Fibroblasts, Cardiac Myocytes and Stem Cells; James R. Pinney, Golnar Doroudian, Patrick Chew, Tejal A. Desai and Brenda Russell How Microbes Sense and Respond to Force: a Single-Molecule View; Peter N. Lipke, Jürgen J. Heinisch and Yves F. Dufrêne Modulating Cell Adhesion by Non-Covalent Ligand Attachment; Andreas Müller, Christina Müller and Tilo Pompe Traction Microscopy; Ramaswamy Krishnan, Dhananjay Tambe, Robert L. Steward, Corey C. Hardin and James P. Butler The Mechanical Regulation of Myofibroblasts Mechanically Guided Matrix Remodeling and Prevention of Fibrosis in Regenerative Medicine; Jenna L. Balestrini and Boris Hinz Interstitial Fluid Flow Mechanosensing: Mechanisms and Consequences; Arpit D. Shah and Adrian C. Shieh Mechanical Properties of Cytoskeletal Structures and their Response to Externally Applied Forces; Takahiro Watanabe-Nakayama, Shin’ichi Machida, Masakazu Saito, Rehana Afrin and Atsushi Ikai Shape and Mechanical Cues Underlying Cellular Homeostasis in Soft Organs; Jordi Alcaraz and Pere Roca-Cusachs Muscle Contraction and Sarcomere Length Non-Uniformities; Walter Herzog Microfluidic Modeling of Cancer Metastasis; Zeta Tak For Yu, Koh Meng Aw Yong and Jianping Fu Engineering Strategies to Recapitulate the Tumor Microenvironment; Andrew Rape and Sanjay Kumar Micropost Methods for Cell Biomechanics of the Cardiovascular System; Kevin S. Bielawski and Nathan J. Sniadecki Dynamic Mechanical Environments to Quantify and Control Cellular Dynamics; Luke MacQueen, Christopher Moraes, Yu Sun and Craig A. Simmons Tip Growth in Walled Cells: Cellular Expansion and Invasion Mechanisms; Amir Sanati Nezhad and Anja Geitmann Expansive Growth of Cells with Walls: Force Generation and Growth Regulation; Joseph K. E. Ortega, Jason T. Truong, Cindy M. Munoz and Elena L. Ortega

Charles M. Cuerrier received a PhD in pharmacology at the Université de Sherbrooke, Canada. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Interdisciplinary Nanophysics, University of Ottawa, Canada, in collaboration with the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. He is the recipient of a postdoctoral fellowship from the Fonds de Recherche du Québec—Santé and of the Ernest and Margaret Ford Research Fellowship in Cardiology. Andrew E. Pelling received a PhD in physical chemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles, USA, and did his postdoctoral research as a senior research fellow at the London Centre for Nanotechnology, University College London, England. He is currently an associate professor and Canada Research Chair in Experimental Cell Mechanics at the University of Ottawa, Canada. He leads the Pelling Lab for Biophysical Manipulation at the Center for Interdisciplinary Nanophysics, University of Ottawa.