Cardiac cells are under constant, self-generated mechanical stress which can affect the
differentiation of stem cells into cardiac myocytes, the development of differentiated cells and …

Cell traction forces (CTFs) are crucial to many biological processes such as inflammation,
wound healing, angiogenesis, and metastasis. CTFs are generated by actomyosin …

Migrating cells display a characteristic polarization of the actin cytoskeleton. Actin filaments
polymerise in the protruding front of the cell whereas actin filament bundles contract in the …

Cell adhesion is an essential aspect of cellular behavior. Finding innovative methods to
probe the adhesion of cells in their native state can greatly advance the understanding of …

Cell motility is required for diverse biological processes including development, homing of
immune cells, wound healing, and cancer cell invasion. Motile neutrophils exhibit a …

The unidirectional expansion of a thin surface-attached polymer gel upon swelling by
solvent generates a biaxial compressive stress within the gel. For sufficiently large stresses …

Traction force microscopy (TFM) has emerged as a versatile technique for the measurement
of single-cell-generated forces. TFM has gained wide use among mechanobiology …

Fibroblast-to-myofibroblast differentiation–a key event in the development of fibrocontractive
diseases and in wound granulation tissue contraction–is hallmarked by the formation of …

It is presently accepted that fibroblast/myofibroblast modulation represents a crucial step in
granulation tissue contraction and in the production of the connective tissue deformations …

Fluorescence proteins (FPs) have been widely used for live-cell imaging in the past decade.
This review summarizes the recent advances in FP development and imaging technologies …