Quantifying cell-generated mechanical forces within living embryonic tissues.

ABSTRACT: Cell-generated mechanical forces play a critical role during tissue morphogenesis and organ formation in the embryo. Little is known about how these forces shape embryonic organs, mainly because it has not been possible to measure cellular forces within developing three-dimensional (3D) tissues in vivo. We present a method to quantify cell-generated mechanical stresses exerted locally within living embryonic tissues, using fluorescent, cell-sized oil microdroplets with defined mechanical properties and coated with adhesion receptor ligands. After a droplet is introduced between cells in a tissue, local stresses are determined from droplet shape deformations, measured using fluorescence microscopy and computerized image analysis. Using this method, we quantified the anisotropic stresses gen

SUBMITTER: Campas O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3939080 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature