Cells on the move : Exploring the interactions between cells and the extracellular matrix at the nanoscale

Date

Mar 17, 2014

Time

2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Speaker

E. Ada Cavalcanti-Adam

Affiliation

University of Heidelberg & Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems

Language

en

Main Topic

Biologie

Other Topics

Biologie, Informatik, Physik, Mathematik

Host

Andreas Deutsch

Description

Cell migration plays a key role in embryonic development, tissue repair and immune surveillance. It can become aberrant in cancer, leading to invasion and metastasis. To migrate, cells form focal adhesions, micrometer-sized structures comprising transmembrane and intracellular protein clusters. An essential element for triggering or suppressing cell migration is the integration of physical and chemical extracellular stimuli with cell responses to the microenvironment. In the past decade, nanotechnology tools have provided the means to produce substrates able to mimic cell-matrix interactions with single molecule resolution. This presentation focuses on the regulation of focal adhesion structure and signaling by surface immobilization and spatial distribution of matrix molecules at the nanoscale. The importance of receptor clustering and forces for focal adhesion dynamics will be discussed. Challenges in determining cell responses to matrix stiffness and geometry combined with different chemical cues, will be also presented. Bridging our experimental approaches with mathematical models, to unravel the functional relationship between receptor clustering and cell migration, could be useful for addressing these spatio-mechanical aspects of adhesion.

Last modified: Feb 20, 2014, 3:53:01 PM