Quantitative Phase Imaging of Spreading Fibroblasts Identifies the Role of Focal Adhesion Kinase in the Stabilization of the Cell Rear.

ABSTRACT: Cells attaching to the extracellular matrix spontaneously acquire front-rear polarity. This self-organization process comprises spatial activation of polarity signaling networks and the establishment of a protruding cell front and a non-protruding cell rear. Cell polarization also involves the reorganization of cell mass, notably the nucleus that is positioned at the cell rear. It remains unclear, however, how these processes are regulated. Here, using coherence-controlled holographic microscopy (CCHM) for non-invasive live-cell quantitative phase imaging (QPI), we examined the role of the focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and its interacting partner Rack1 in dry mass distribution in spreading Rat2 fibroblasts. We found that FAK-depleted cells adopt an elongated, bipolar phenotype with a high ce

SUBMITTER: Ramaniuk O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7463699 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature