ReviewNature methods2016
Measuring cell-generated forces: a guide to the available tools.
Review in Nature methods, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 230 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
230 citing papers in PubMed.
- Load-dependent RGD-context sensing via αV-class integrins reprograms cell adhesion and mechanics.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Deep learning-supported image quantification of epithelial cell shapes and its application to polycystic kidney disease.PLoS computational biology · 2026Article
- Mechanistic insights into cellular deformation enable enhanced extensional-flow cytometry for label-free classification and sorting.Microsystems & nanoengineering · 2026Article
- Measuring cellular force using DNA-based tension probes: from ensemble to single-molecule studies.Nature protocols · 2026Review
- Traction Force Microscopy with DNA FluoroCubes.Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids · 2026Article
- Investigation of mechanical forces during multicellular early angiogenic sprouting by three-dimensional traction force microscopy in hydrogel matrices.Nature protocols · 2026Review
- Mechanical gating of tendon fibrogenic transcription in systemic sclerosis.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Mechanical communication and function regulation of immune cells.Fundamental research · 2026Review
- Cell shape and maturation impacts α-actinin-2 tension in iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes.APL bioengineering · 2026Article
- Three-dimensional robotic structures fabricated and powered entirely with proteins.Nature protocols · 2026Review
- The Cytoskeleton in Space.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2026Article
- Untangling the fusion of spatial omics and mechanobiology.Progress in biomedical engineering (Bristol, England) · 2025Review
- 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
- Capped high-force integrin bond lifetimes and spacing-tuned binding frequency drive rapid fibroblast migration.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Endothelial-smooth muscle microgauges for modeling pulmonary arterial vasoregulation.Lab on a chip · 2025Article
- Cell-generated mechanical forces play a role in epileptogenesis after injury.Experimental neurology · 2025Article
- Engineered In Vitro Platforms for Mechanochemical Control of Cell Migration.Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology · 2025Review
- Cell Contractile Forces Drive Spatiotemporal Morphogenesis in 4D Bioprinted Living Constructs.Matter · 2025Article
- Sensitive Detection of Intercellular Tensile Forces via Cas12a-Assisted Membrane Molecular Probes.Nano letters · 2025Article
- A new friend for measuring forces in living tissues.Biophysical journal · 2025Article
170 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Forces generated by cells are critical regulators of cell adhesion, signaling, and function, and they are also essential drivers in the morphogenetic events of development. Over the past 20 years, several methods have been developed to measure these forces. However, despite recent substantial interest in understanding the contribution of these forces in biology, implementation and adoption of the developed methods by the broader biological community remain challenging because of the inherently multidisciplinary expertise required to conduct and interpret the measurements. In this review, we introduce the established methods and highlight the technical challenges associated with implementing each technique in a biological laboratory.
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What OpenQuestion holds
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.