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An In Vitro Model System to Test Mechano-Microbiological Interactions Between Bacteria and Host Cells

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Cytoskeleton

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 2364))

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to present an innovative technique to visualize changes of the F-actin cytoskeleton in response to locally applied force. We developed an in vitro system that combines micromanipulation of force by magnetic tweezers with simultaneous live cell fluorescence microscopy. We applied pulling forces to magnetic beads coated with the Neisseria gonorrhoeae Type IV pili in the same order of magnitude than the forces generated by live bacteria. We saw quick and robust F-actin accumulation in individual cells at the sites where pulling forces were applied. Using the magnetic tweezers, we were able to mimic the local response of the F-actin cytoskeleton to bacteria-generated forces. In this chapter, we describe our magnetic tweezers system and show how to control it in order to study cellular responses to force.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, Brooklyn, NY, USA

    Luis Carlos Santos, Emilia Laura Munteanu & Nicolas Biais

  2. Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA

    Luis Carlos Santos

  3. Columbia University Irving medical Center, New York, NY, USA

    Emilia Laura Munteanu

  4. Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York, NY, USA

    Nicolas Biais

  5. Laboratoire Jean Perrin, UMR 8237 Sorbonne Université/CNRS, 4 Place Jussieu, Paris, France

    Nicolas Biais

Authors
  1. Luis Carlos Santos
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  2. Emilia Laura Munteanu
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  3. Nicolas Biais
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nicolas Biais .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Professor Emeritus, Brooklyn College – CUNY, Brooklyn, NY, USA

    Ray H. Gavin

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© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature

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Santos, L.C., Munteanu, E.L., Biais, N. (2022). An In Vitro Model System to Test Mechano-Microbiological Interactions Between Bacteria and Host Cells. In: Gavin, R.H. (eds) Cytoskeleton . Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2364. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1661-1_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1661-1_11

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  • Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-0716-1660-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-0716-1661-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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