ArticlePLoS computational biology2014
A novel cell traction force microscopy to study multi-cellular system.
Article in PLoS computational biology, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers.
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Who cites it
33 citing papers in PubMed, 71 citations in OpenAlex.
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- A Versatile Three Dimensional Traction Force Microscopy Framework for Uncovering the Mechanics of Bio-Adhesion.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Deep learning reveals how cells pull, buckle, and navigate fibrous environments.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Cell Architecture and Dynamics of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) on Hydrogels with Spatially Patterned Laminin and N-Cadherin.ACS applied materials & interfaces · 2025Article
- Mechanics of cell sheets: plectin as an integrator of cytoskeletal networks.Open biology · 2025Review
- Tracking single hiPSC-derived cardiomyocyte contractile function using CONTRAX an efficient pipeline for traction force measurement.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Field Guide to Traction Force Microscopy.Cellular and molecular bioengineering · 2024Review
- Biophysics in tumor growth and progression: from single mechano-sensitive molecules to mechanomedicine.Oncogene · 2023Review
- YAP at the Crossroads of Biomechanics and Drug Resistance in Human Cancer.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Contact Guidance Drives Upward Cellular Migration at the Mesoscopic Scale.Cellular and molecular bioengineering · 2023Article
- Mechanobiological Analysis of Nanoparticle Toxicity.Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Functional Interrogation of CaMethods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2023Article
- Automatic Multi-functional Integration Program (AMFIP) towards all-optical mechano-electrophysiology interrogation.PloS one · 2022Article
- Visualizing the Invisible: Advanced Optical Microscopy as a Tool to Measure Biomechanical Forces.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2021Review
- Matrigel patterning reflects multicellular contractility.PLoS computational biology · 2019Article
- Simultaneous cell traction and growth measurements using light.Journal of biophotonics · 2019Article
- Fibrin Nanoparticles Coupled with Keratinocyte Growth Factor Enhance the Dermal Wound-Healing Rate.ACS applied materials & interfaces · 2019Article
- Traction force microscopy with optimized regularization and automated Bayesian parameter selection for comparing cells.Scientific reports · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Traction forces exerted by adherent cells on their microenvironment can mediate many critical cellular functions. Accurate quantification of these forces is essential for mechanistic understanding of mechanotransduction. However, most existing methods of quantifying cellular forces are limited to single cells in isolation, whereas most physiological processes are inherently multi-cellular in nature where cell-cell and cell-microenvironment interactions determine the emergent properties of cell clusters. In the present study, a robust finite-element-method-based cell traction force microscopy technique is developed to estimate the traction forces produced by multiple isolated cells as well as cell clusters on soft substrates. The method accounts for the finite thickness of the substrate. Hence, cell cluster size can be larger than substrate thickness. The method allows computing the traction field from the substrate displacements within the cells' and clusters' boundaries. The displacement data outside these boundaries are not necessary. The utility of the method is demonstrated by computing the traction generated by multiple monkey kidney fibroblasts (MKF) and human colon cancerous (HCT-8) cells in close proximity, as well as by large clusters. It is found that cells act as individual contractile groups within clusters for generating traction. There may be multiple of such groups in the cluster, or the entire cluster may behave a single group. Individual cells do not form dipoles, but serve as a conduit of force (transmission lines) over long distances in the cluster. The cell-cell force can be either tensile or compressive depending on the cell-microenvironment interactions.
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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.