B3.2025: The role of the cytoskeleton for spatial and temporal control of cell mechanics studied using an “average cell”
Lead PI: Timo Betz
Collaborating PIs: Helmut Grubmüller, Andreas Janshoff, Sarah Köster, Péter Lénárt, Melina Schuh
Overarching research question: Does the local cytoskeletal composition predict intracellular mechanics?
Our comprehension of the mechanical attributes of tissue and the cellular interface with the external environment has seen significant advancements, yet the exploration of mechanical properties within cells has not been as thorough. This gap in knowledge is partly attributed to the challenges of experimental access and predominantly to the fact that intracellular mechanical measurements exhibit considerable variability, suggesting pronounced disparities within a single cell. Exploiting our extensive expertise in utilizing optical tweezers for microrheological investigations, this project aims to elucidate the mechanical properties within cells by exerting a precisely controlled force on a probe particle situated inside the cell. While we currently explore the mechanical properties of cells with a well-defined geometry that is fixed by adhesion patterns, we will extend our approach to migrating cells. This will be possible by extending the archbow adhesion patterns to dumbbell patterns, where the cells are known to systematically and reproducibly move from one site to the other. To overcome the low throughput, which remains a clear downside of optical tweezers based microrheology, we will also use a recently introduced passive method that is based on the mean back relaxation observable.
Core field: experimental biophysics
PhD training objectives: active and passive microrheology (experimentally and theoretically); advanced 3D microscopy; immunostaining; generation of adhesion patterns; photomanipulation; CRISPR/CAS9.