Immune Cell Forces
Immune Cell Forces - Related Videos
05:58
Using DNA-Based Tension Probes to Assess Receptor Forces Applied by Immune Cells
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2025
The video demonstrates a method for assessing receptor forces applied by immune cells using polyethylene glycol-anchored gold nanoparticles and DNA hairpin tension probes. CD8-positive T cell interactions trigger probe unfolding, emitting fluorescence while locking strands sustain the signal for quantifying the forces applied by immune cells.
07:26
Isolation of Functional Cardiac Immune Cells
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Cited by 9 •
2011
This method for isolating functional immune cells from the heart provides an alternative to the conventional methods of collagenase digestion, which causes unwanted immune cell activation, resulting in a decreased responsiveness of these cells. Our method of isolation yields functional cardiac immune cells by avoiding problems associated with enzymatic digestion.
15:39
Studying Organelle Dynamics in B Cells During Immune Synapse Formation
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Cited by 8 •
2019
Herein we describe two approaches to characterize cell polarization events in B lymphocytes during the formation of an IS. The first, involves quantification of organelle recruitment and cytoskeleton rearrangements at the synaptic membrane. The second is a biochemical approach, to characterize changes in composition of the centrosome, which undergoes polarization to the immune synapse.
05:07
Isolation, Characterization and Functional Examination of the Gingival Immune Cell Network
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Cited by 30 •
2016
We have established a technique for the isolation, phenotypic characterization and functional analysis of immune cells from murine gingiva.
06:53
DNA Tension Probes to Map the Transient Piconewton Receptor Forces by Immune Cells
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Cited by 9 •
2021
This paper describes a detailed protocol for using DNA-based tension probes to image the receptor forces applied by immune cells. This approach can map receptor forces >4.7pN in real-time and can integrate forces over time.
FAQs
Actin–myosin activity produces internal contractile forces that allow leukocytes to change shape, attach to surrounding structures, and move through extracellular matrices. These forces must be coordinated with adhesion, because attachment provides traction while cytoskeletal activity drives deformation and forward movement. Studying this coordination helps explain how immune cells navigate tissues rather than moving as rigid, undeformable bodies.
Actin–myosin activity helps immune cells deform their surfaces, maintain adhesion, and generate force-dependent contacts with antigen-presenting cells or infected targets. These contacts are not purely chemical encounters; their mechanical properties can influence how cells probe one another and communicate. Examining the forces at these interfaces therefore provides information about the physical organization and functional strength of immune-cell interactions.
Changes in tissue stiffness and adhesion modify the mechanical environment that immune cells encounter. A stiffer or more adhesive setting can change how cells attach, deform, migrate, and sustain contacts with neighboring cells. Comparing immune-cell behavior across these conditions can reveal how tissue properties influence immune activation, movement through extracellular matrices, and inflammatory responses during infection.
Researchers examine mechanical interactions while immune cells migrate, contact antigen-presenting cells or infected targets, form immunological synapses, or engulf microbes. Force measurements can then be compared with observable outcomes such as cell movement, target-cell killing, engulfment, immune activation, or inflammation. This approach connects physical interactions at the cellular scale with functional consequences in immunology and infection research.
Migration through extracellular matrices, surface probing, immunological synapse formation, and microbial engulfment each expose a different aspect of immune-cell mechanics. Migration emphasizes deformation and adhesion, synapses emphasize force-dependent communication, and engulfment emphasizes coordinated interaction with a microbe. Examining several events together can show whether a mechanical change affects one stage specifically or multiple immune functions.
Force measurements help determine how pathogen properties influence immune-cell behavior and responses. By relating mechanical interactions with infected targets or microbes to cell killing, engulfment, activation, or inflammation, researchers can assess how physical features of an infection shape immunity. This makes mechanical analysis relevant for connecting pathogen–cell encounters with broader outcomes in immunology and infection.