Dynamic traction force measurements of migrating immune cells in 3D matrices

Böhringer D, Cóndor M, Bischof L, Czerwinski T, Gampl N, Ngo P, Bauer A, Bosch-Voskens C, Lopez Posadas R, Franze K, Budday S, Mark C, Fabry B, Gerum R (2025)

Publication Status: Submitted

Publication Type: Unpublished / Preprint

Future Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2025

DOI: 10.1101/2022.11.16.516758

Abstract

Immune cells such as natural killer (NK) cells migrate with high speeds of several µm/min through dense tissue, but the traction forces are unknown. We present a method to measure dynamic traction forces of fast migrating cells in non-linear biopolymer matrices. The method accounts for the mechanical non-linearity of the 3D tissue matrix and can be applied to time series of confocal or bright-field image stacks. The method is highly sensitive over a large range of forces and object sizes, from ∼1 nN for axon growth cones up to ∼10 µN for mouse intestinal organoids. We find that NK cells display bursts of large traction forces that increase with matrix stiffness and facilitate migration through tight constrictions.

Authors with CRIS profile

David Böhringer Lehrstuhl für Biophysik Lars Bischof Lehrstuhl für Biophysik Tina Czerwinski Lehrstuhl für Biophysik Phuong Ngo Department of Medicine 1 – Gastroenterology, Pneumology and Endocrinology Andreas Bauer Lehrstuhl für Biophysik Caroline Bosch-Voskens Department of Dermatology Rocío Lopez Posadas Department of Medicine 1 – Gastroenterology, Pneumology and Endocrinology Kristian Franze Lehrstuhl für Medizinische Physik und Mikrogewebetechnik Silvia Budday Lehrstuhl für Kontinuumsmechanik (Schwerpunkt Biomechanik) Christoph Mark Lehrstuhl für Biophysik Ben Fabry Lehrstuhl für Biophysik Richard Gerum Lehrstuhl für Biophysik

Additional Organisation(s)

Sonderforschungsbereich 1540: Erforschung der Mechanik des Gehirns (EBM): Verständnis, Engineering und Nutzung mechanischer Eigenschaften und Signale in der Entwicklung, Physiologie und Pathologie des zentralen Nervensystems

Involved external institutions

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL) / Catholic University of Leuven BE Belgium (BE)

How to cite

APA:

Böhringer, D., Cóndor, M., Bischof, L., Czerwinski, T., Gampl, N., Ngo, P.,... Gerum, R. (2025). Dynamic traction force measurements of migrating immune cells in 3D matrices. (Unpublished, Submitted).

MLA:

Böhringer, David, et al. Dynamic traction force measurements of migrating immune cells in 3D matrices. Unpublished, Submitted. 2025.

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