Is the mechanical activity of epithelial cells controlled by deformations or forces?

¹ Université Paris 7/CNRS
² Institut Curie/CNRS

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: ladoux{at}ccr.jussieu.fr.

Submitted on July 21, 2005
Revised on August 29, 2005
Accepted on 16 September 2005

	Abstract

The traction forces developed by cells depend strongly on the substrate rigidity. In this letter, we characterize = quantitatively this effect on MDCK epithelial cells by using a micro-fabricated force sensor consisting in a high density array of soft pillars whose stiffness can be tailored by changing their height and radius to obtain a rigidity range from 2 nN/µm up to 130 nN/µm. We find that the forces exerted by the cells are proportional to the spring constant of the pillars meaning that, on average, the cells deform the pillars by the same amount whatever their rigidity. The relevant parameter may thus be a deformation rather than a force. These dynamic observations are correlated with the reinforcement of focal adhesions that increases with the substrate rigidity.

Key Words: cell migration, cell-matrix interactions, microfabrication, substrate rigidity, traction forces

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