Probing T Cell 3D Mechanosensing With Magnetically-Actuated Structures
The ability of cells to recognize and respond to the mechanical properties of their environment is of increasing importance in T cell physiology. However, initial studies in this direction focused on planar hydrogel and elastomer surfaces, presenting several challenges in interpretation including di...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-08-01
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Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2021.704693/full |
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doaj-bb58f045de4e4380a42f989c1930d67d2021-09-09T05:37:32ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Immunology1664-32242021-08-011210.3389/fimmu.2021.704693704693Probing T Cell 3D Mechanosensing With Magnetically-Actuated StructuresChirag SacharLance C. KamThe ability of cells to recognize and respond to the mechanical properties of their environment is of increasing importance in T cell physiology. However, initial studies in this direction focused on planar hydrogel and elastomer surfaces, presenting several challenges in interpretation including difficulties in separating mechanical stiffness from changes in chemistry needed to modulate this property. We introduce here the use of magnetic fields to change the structural rigidity of microscale elastomer pillars loaded with superparamagnetic nanoparticles, independent of substrate chemistry. This magnetic modulation of rigidity, embodied as the pillar spring constant, changed the interaction of mouse naïve CD4+ T cells from a contractile morphology to one involving deep embedding into the array. Furthermore, increasing spring constant was associated with higher IL-2 secretion, showing a functional impact on mechanosensing. The system introduced here thus separates local substrate stiffness and long-range structural rigidity, revealing new facets of T cell interaction with their environment.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2021.704693/fullmechanobiologyCD4+ T cellmagneticmicropillaractivation |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Chirag Sachar Lance C. Kam |
spellingShingle |
Chirag Sachar Lance C. Kam Probing T Cell 3D Mechanosensing With Magnetically-Actuated Structures Frontiers in Immunology mechanobiology CD4+ T cell magnetic micropillar activation |
author_facet |
Chirag Sachar Lance C. Kam |
author_sort |
Chirag Sachar |
title |
Probing T Cell 3D Mechanosensing With Magnetically-Actuated Structures |
title_short |
Probing T Cell 3D Mechanosensing With Magnetically-Actuated Structures |
title_full |
Probing T Cell 3D Mechanosensing With Magnetically-Actuated Structures |
title_fullStr |
Probing T Cell 3D Mechanosensing With Magnetically-Actuated Structures |
title_full_unstemmed |
Probing T Cell 3D Mechanosensing With Magnetically-Actuated Structures |
title_sort |
probing t cell 3d mechanosensing with magnetically-actuated structures |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Immunology |
issn |
1664-3224 |
publishDate |
2021-08-01 |
description |
The ability of cells to recognize and respond to the mechanical properties of their environment is of increasing importance in T cell physiology. However, initial studies in this direction focused on planar hydrogel and elastomer surfaces, presenting several challenges in interpretation including difficulties in separating mechanical stiffness from changes in chemistry needed to modulate this property. We introduce here the use of magnetic fields to change the structural rigidity of microscale elastomer pillars loaded with superparamagnetic nanoparticles, independent of substrate chemistry. This magnetic modulation of rigidity, embodied as the pillar spring constant, changed the interaction of mouse naïve CD4+ T cells from a contractile morphology to one involving deep embedding into the array. Furthermore, increasing spring constant was associated with higher IL-2 secretion, showing a functional impact on mechanosensing. The system introduced here thus separates local substrate stiffness and long-range structural rigidity, revealing new facets of T cell interaction with their environment. |
topic |
mechanobiology CD4+ T cell magnetic micropillar activation |
url |
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2021.704693/full |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT chiragsachar probingtcell3dmechanosensingwithmagneticallyactuatedstructures AT lanceckam probingtcell3dmechanosensingwithmagneticallyactuatedstructures |
_version_ |
1717761426345426944 |