Research report 2018 - Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry

Mechanobiology: Intracellular force microscopy reveals mechanisms of cellular mechanical signaling

Authors
Grashoff, Carsten
Departments
Forschungsgruppe Molekulare Mechanotransduktion
Summary
The ability of cells to sense and respond to mechanical signals is central to numerous biological processes. How mechanical signals are processed in cells has remained unclear, because techniques to detect the extremely small molecular forces in cells were missing. We therefore developed a technology that allows quantification of intracellular forces that are as low as a billionth of a newton. First applications reveal fascinating insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying cellular mechanobiology.

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