ArticleNature protocols2012
Microneedle-based analysis of the micromechanics of the metaphase spindle assembled in Xenopus laevis egg extracts.
Article in Nature protocols, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 38 citations in OpenAlex.
- Basement membrane structure and function: Relating biology to mechanics.Matrix biology : journal of the International Society for Matrix Biology · 2025Review
- Isolation and manipulation of meiotic spindles from mouse oocytes reveals migration regulated by pulling force during asymmetric division.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Analytical methods in studying cell force sensing: principles, current technologies and perspectives.Regenerative biomaterials · 2025Review
- PIGB maintains nuclear lamina organization in skeletal muscle of Drosophila.The Journal of cell biology · 2024Article
- Peroxidasin is required for full viability in development and for maintenance of tissue mechanics in adults.Matrix biology : journal of the International Society for Matrix Biology · 2024Article
- RanGTP and the actin cytoskeleton keep paternal and maternal chromosomes apart during fertilization.The Journal of cell biology · 2021Article
- Individual kinetochore-fibers locally dissipate force to maintain robust mammalian spindle structure.The Journal of cell biology · 2020Article
- Article
- Light-inducible activation of cell cycle progression in Xenopus egg extracts under microfluidic confinement.Lab on a chip · 2019Article
- DSS-induced damage to basement membranes is repaired by matrix replacement and crosslinking.Journal of cell science · 2019Article
- Micropipette force sensors for in vivo force measurements on single cells and multicellular microorganisms.Nature protocols · 2019Article
- Chromatin as a nuclear spring.Biophysics and physicobiology · 2018Review
- Analyzing the micromechanics of the cell division apparatus.Methods in cell biology · 2018Article
- The sulfilimine cross-link of collagen IV contributes to kidney tubular basement membrane stiffness.American journal of physiology. Renal physiology · 2017Article
- High-quality frozen extracts ofMolecular biology of the cell · 2017Article
- Nucleosome-nucleosome interactions via histone tails and linker DNA regulate nuclear rigidity.Molecular biology of the cell · 2017Article
- Metaphase Spindle Assembly.Biology · 2017Review
- Mechanical properties of spindle poles are symmetrically balanced.Biophysics and physicobiology · 2017Article
- Micromechanics of the vertebrate meiotic spindle examined by stretching along the pole-to-pole axis.Biophysical journal · 2014Article
- Generating suspended cell monolayers for mechanobiological studies.Nature protocols · 2013Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
To explain how micrometer-sized cellular structures generate and respond to forces, we need to characterize their micromechanical properties. Here we provide a protocol to build and use a dual force-calibrated microneedle-based setup to quantitatively analyze the micromechanics of a metaphase spindle assembled in Xenopus laevis egg extracts. This cell-free extract system allows for controlled biochemical perturbations of spindle components. We describe how the microneedles are prepared and how they can be used to apply and measure forces. A multimode imaging system allows the tracking of microtubules, chromosomes and needle tips. This setup can be used to analyze the viscoelastic properties of the spindle on timescales ranging from minutes to sub-seconds. A typical experiment, along with data analysis, is also detailed. We anticipate that our protocol can be readily extended to analyze the micromechanics of other cellular structures assembled in cell-free extracts. The entire procedure can take 3-4 d.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.