Endothelial cells undergo morphological, biomechanical, and dynamic changes in response to tumor necrosis factor-α.

ABSTRACT: The immune response triggers a complicated sequence of events, one of which is release of the cytokine tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) from stromal cells, for example monocytes and macrophages. In this work we investigated the biophysical effects of TNF-α on endothelial cells (ECs), including changes in cell morphology, biomechanics, migration, and cytoskeletal dynamics. We found that TNF-α induces a wide distribution of cell area and aspect ratio, with these properties increasing on average during treatment. Interestingly, aspect ratio peaks after approximately 10 h of exposure to TNF-α, corresponding also to a peak in exerted traction forces. Meanwhile, ECs treated with TNF-α soften, and we associate this with significant increases in estimated cellular volume. In addition, our evaluatio

SUBMITTER: Stroka KM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3477301 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature