This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: biophysj.104.050278v1 88/3/2224    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Desprat, N. Articles by Asnacios, A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Desprat, N. Articles by Asnacios, A.

Creep Function of a Single Living Cell

Laboratoire de Biorhéologie et d'Hydrodynamique Physico-chimique, Université Paris VII, and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique UMR 7057 and FR 2438 "Matière et Systèmes Complexes", Paris, France

Correspondence: Address reprint requests to Atef Asnacios, Tel.: 33-1-44-27-61-10; Fax: 33-1-44-27-43-35; E-mail: asnacios{at}ccr.jussieu.fr.

We used a novel uniaxial stretching rheometer to measure the creep function J(t) of an isolated living cell. We show, for the first time at the scale of the whole cell, that J(t) behaves as a power-law J(t) = At. For N = 43 mice myoblasts (C2-7), we find = 0.24 ± 0.01 and A = (2.4 ± 0.3) 10^–3 Pa^–1 s^–. Using Laplace Transforms, we compare A and to the parameters G₀ and ß of the complex modulus G*() = G₀^ß measured by other authors using magnetic twisting cytometry and atomic force microscopy. Excellent agreement between A and G₀ on the one hand, and between and ß on the other hand, indicated that the power-law is an intrinsic feature of cell mechanics and not the signature of a particular technique. Moreover, the agreement between measurements at very different size scales, going from a few tens of nanometers to the scale of the whole cell, suggests that self-similarity could be a central feature of cell mechanical structure. Finally, we show that the power-law behavior could explain previous results first interpreted as instantaneous elasticity. Thus, we think that the living cell must definitely be thought of as a material with a large and continuous distribution of relaxation time constants which cannot be described by models with a finite number of springs and dash-pots.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				D. Icard-Arcizet, O. Cardoso, A. Richert, and S. Henon Cell Stiffening in Response to External Stress is Correlated to Actin Recruitment Biophys. J., April 1, 2008; 94(7): 2906 - 2913. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. Stamenovic, N. Rosenblatt, M. Montoya-Zavala, B. D. Matthews, S. Hu, B. Suki, N. Wang, and D. E. Ingber Rheological Behavior of Living Cells Is Timescale-Dependent Biophys. J., October 15, 2007; 93(8): L39 - L41. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. Weihs, T. G. Mason, and M. A. Teitell Bio-Microrheology: A Frontier in Microrheology Biophys. J., December 1, 2006; 91(11): 4296 - 4305. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. M. Van Citters, B. D. Hoffman, G. Massiera, and J. C. Crocker The Role of F-Actin and Myosin in Epithelial Cell Rheology Biophys. J., November 15, 2006; 91(10): 3946 - 3956. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. D. Hoffman, G. Massiera, K. M. Van Citters, and J. C. Crocker The consensus mechanics of cultured mammalian cells PNAS, July 5, 2006; 103(27): 10259 - 10264. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. Fernandez, P. A. Pullarkat, and A. Ott A Master Relation Defines the Nonlinear Viscoelasticity of Single Fibroblasts Biophys. J., May 15, 2006; 90(10): 3796 - 3805. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. E. Laudadio, E. J. Millet, B. Fabry, S. S. An, J. P. Butler, and J. J. Fredberg Rat airway smooth muscle cell during actin modulation: rheology and glassy dynamics Am J Physiol Cell Physiol, December 1, 2005; 289(6): C1388 - C1395. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]