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Elastic modulus of Dictyostelium is affected by mechanotransduction

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Abstract

The stiffness of adherent mammalian cells is regulated by the elasticity of substrates due to mechanotransduction via integrin-based focal adhesions. Dictyostelium discoideum is an ameboid protozoan model organism that does not carry genes for classical integrin and can adhere to substrates without forming focal adhesions. It also has a life cycle that naturally includes both single-cellular and multicellular life forms. In this article, we report the measurements of the elastic modulus of single cells on varied substrate stiffnesses and the elastic modulus of the multicellular “slug” using atomic force microscopy (AFM) as a microindenter/force transducer. The results show that the elastic modulus of the Dictyostelium cell is regulated by the stiffness of the substrate and its surrounding cells, which is similar to the mechanotransduction behavior of mammalian cells.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the support from Loras College (sabbatical awarded to K.M.C.) and the Iowa Science Foundation for this project (ISF 16-07 to K.M.C.). We thank Dr. Lee Farina in the Engineering Physics Department at University of Wisconsin-Platteville for her design of the microscope adaptor and her assistance in AFM experiments. The AFM experiments were carried out in the Material Fabrication and Nanoscale Characterization Lab under the support of the College of Engineering, Mathematics, and Science at University of Wisconsin-Platteville.

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  1. Department of Engineering Physics, University of Wisconsin-Platteville, 1 University Plaza, Platteville, WI, 53818, USA

    Yan Wu

  2. Department of Biology, Loras College, 1450 Alta Vista Street, Dubuque, IA, 52001, USA

    Kate M. Cooper

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  1. Yan Wu
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Correspondence to Kate M. Cooper.

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Wu, Y., Cooper, K.M. Elastic modulus of Dictyostelium is affected by mechanotransduction. J Biol Phys 45, 293–305 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10867-019-09529-1

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