Membrane ruffling is a mechanosensor of extracellular fluid viscosity

Matthew Pittman, Ernest Iu, Keva Li, Mingjiu Wang, Junjie Chen, Nilay Taneja, Myung Hyun Jo, Seungman Park, Wei Hung Jung, Le Liang, Ishan Barman, Taekjip Ha, Stavros Gaitanaros, Jian Liu, Dylan Burnette, Sergey Plotnikov, Yun Chen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Cell behaviour is affected by the physical forces and mechanical properties of cells and their microenvironment. The viscosity of extracellular fluid—a component of the cellular microenvironment—can vary by orders of magnitude, but its effect on cell behaviour remains largely unexplored. Using biocompatible polymers to increase the viscosity of the culture medium, we characterize how viscosity affects cell behaviour. We find that multiple types of adherent cell respond in an unexpected but similar manner to elevated viscosity. In a highly viscous medium, cells double their spread area, exhibit increased focal adhesion formation and turnover, generate significantly greater traction forces and migrate nearly two times faster. We observe that when cells are immersed in a regular medium, these viscosity-dependent responses require an actively ruffling lamellipodium—a dynamic membrane structure at the front of the cell. We present evidence that cells utilize membrane ruffling to sense changes in extracellular fluid viscosity and to trigger adaptive responses.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1112-1121
Number of pages10
JournalNature Physics
Volume18
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2022

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Physics and Astronomy

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