Abstract

Visualizing Mechano-Biology: Quantitative Bioimaging Tools To Study The Impact Of Mechanical Stress On Cell Adhesion And Signalling

Bernhard Wehrle-Haller, Group Leader, University of Geneva

Cell-matrix adhesions are critical for adhesion, migration and provide signaling required for proliferation and survival during development and tissue repair. On the other hand, the same adhesion structures allow tissue invasion and chemo-resistance of tumor cells and the formation of metastases. In order to better understand how protein-protein and protein-lipid interactions are involved in the formation and regulation of the mechanical anchorage to the extracellular matrix, as well as creating signaling in response to mechanical tension, we have developed a series of fluorescently tagged fusion proteins that can be used to investigate and to quantify the formation and dynamics of cell-matrix adhesions under different experimental conditions. I will discuss different strategies to visualize and track fluorescent proteins in living cells, covering cytoskeletal elements, cell surface receptors, as well as cytoplasmic adapter proteins. In addition, different imaging techniques, such as fluorescent time-lapse imaging, fluorescent cluster analysis and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching will be presented to provide examples how quantitative live cell-imaging can be used to study and to quantify complex and dynamic biological systems.