ArticlePNAS nexus2023
Effective cell membrane tension is independent of polyacrylamide substrate stiffness.
Article in PNAS nexus, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Viscoelastic hydrogel primed CAR-macrophage for pulmonary fibrosis treatment.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Environmental stiffness regulates neuronal maturation via Piezo1-mediated transthyretin activity.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Membrane Tension Regulation is Required for Wound Repair.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2024Article
- Extracellular matrix rigidity modulates physical properties of subcapsular sinus macrophage-B cell immune synapses.Biophysical journal · 2024Article
- Tensed axons are on fire.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
- Myosin-independent stiffness sensing by fibroblasts is regulated by the viscoelasticity of flowing actin.Communications materials · 2024Article
- The role of mechanics in axonal stability and development.Seminars in cell & developmental biology · 2023Review
- Membrane tension propagation couples axon growth and collateral branching.Science advances · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 5 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Most animal cells are surrounded by a cell membrane and an underlying actomyosin cortex. Both structures are linked, and they are under tension. In-plane membrane tension and cortical tension both influence many cellular processes, including cell migration, division, and endocytosis. However, while actomyosin tension is regulated by substrate stiffness, how membrane tension responds to mechanical substrate properties is currently poorly understood. Here, we probed the effective membrane tension of neurons and fibroblasts cultured on glass and polyacrylamide substrates of varying stiffness using optical tweezers. In contrast to actomyosin-based traction forces, both peak forces and steady-state tether forces of cells cultured on hydrogels were independent of substrate stiffness and did not change after blocking myosin II activity using blebbistatin, indicating that tether and traction forces are not directly linked. Peak forces in fibroblasts on hydrogels were about twice as high as those in neurons, indicating stronger membrane-cortex adhesion in fibroblasts. Steady-state tether forces were generally higher in cells cultured on hydrogels than on glass, which we explain by a mechanical model. Our results provide new insights into the complex regulation of effective membrane tension and pave the way for a deeper understanding of the biological processes it instructs.
Identifiers
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.