Square Living Cell

Living cells change their shape by applying mechanical tension to their extracellular matrix adhesions and pulling themselves flat against their substrate. This capillary cell was forced to take on a square shape by culturing it on a single sized (40 x 40 μm) matrix adhesive island that was created with a microfabrication technique first developed as an alternative method to make microchips for the computer industry.  This actin cytoskeleton of the cell is shown in green, and its nucleus in blue.

(By Cliff Brangwynne in the Ingber Lab)

Engineering cell shape and function. Singhvi R, Kumar A, Lopez GP, Stephanopoulos GN, Wang DI, Whitesides GM, Ingber DE. Science. 1994 Apr 29;264(5159):696-8.

Geometric control of cell life and death. Chen CS, Mrksich M, Huang S, Whitesides GM, Ingber DE. Science. 1997 May 30;276(5317):1425-8.

Patterning proteins and cells using soft lithography. Kane RS, Takayama S, Ostuni E, Ingber DE, Whitesides GM. Biomaterials. 1999 Dec;20(23-24):2363-76

Soft lithography in biology and biochemistry. Whitesides GM, Ostuni E, Takayama S, Jiang X, Ingber DE. Annu Rev Biomed Eng. 2001;3:335-73

Directional control of lamellipodia extension by constraining cell shape and orienting cell tractional forces. Parker KK, Brock AL, Brangwynne C, Mannix RJ, Wang N, Ostuni E, Geisse NA, Adams JC, Whitesides GM, Ingber DE. FASEB J. 2002 Aug;16(10):1195-204.