Mechanobiological regulation of T cells <i>via</i> transient viscoelastic microfluidic confinement.

ABSTRACT: T cell migration through confined spaces, such as venular blood vessel walls or tumor tissues, is crucial for delivering immune effectors to sites of infection or disease. While mechanical confinement has been shown to trigger signaling pathways in T cells, the effects of transient (millisecond) mechanical confinement remain largely unknown. Here we demonstrate that even rapid, sub-millisecond flow-induced deformations can significantly impact T cell function. Using a high-throughput microfluidic system to confine large populations of activated and non-activated T cells in narrow channels of varying sizes, we show that transient microscale confinement regulates protein and gene expression in a channel size-dependent manner, impacting both immediate and long-term phenotypic changes (≥4 h af

SUBMITTER: Asghari M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12643541 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature