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Differences in elasticity of vinculin-deficient F9 cells measured by magnetometry and atomic force microscopy

  • Wolfgang H. Goldmann
  • , Reinhard Galneder
  • , Markus Ludwig
  • , Weiming Xu
  • , Eileen D. Adamson
  • , Ning Wang
  • , Robert M. Ezzell

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

We have investigated a mouse F9 embryonic carcinoma cell line, in which both vinculin genes were inactivated by homologous recombination, that exhibits defective adhesion and spreading [Coll et al. (1995) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 92, 9161-9165]. Using a magnetometer and RGD-coated magnetic microbeads, we measured the local effect of loss and replacement of vinculin on mechanical force transfer across integrins. Vinculin-deficient F9Vin(-/-) cells showed a 21% difference in relative stiffness compared to wild-type cells. This was restored to near wild-type levels after transfection and constitutive expression of increasing amounts of vinculin into F9Vin(-/-) cells. In contrast, the transfection of vinculin constructs deficient in amino acids 1-288 (containing the talin- and α-actinin-binding site) or substituting tyrosine for phenylalanine (phosphorylation site, amino acid 822) in F9Vin(-/-) cells resulted in partial restoration of stiffness. Using atomic force microscopy to map the relative elasticity of entire F9 cells by 128 x 128 (n = 16,384) force scans, we observed a correlation with magnetometer measurements. These findings suggest that vinculin may promote cell adhesion and spreading by stabilizing focal adhesions and transferring mechanical stresses that drive cytoskeletal remodeling, thereby affecting the elastic properties of the cell.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)235-242
Number of pages8
JournalExperimental Cell Research
Volume239
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 15 1998
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Vinculin-regulated cellular elasticity

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Cell Biology

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