All-in-one rheometry and nonlinear rheology of multicellular aggregates

Gaëtan Mary, François Mazuel, Vincent Nier, Florian Fage, Irène Nagle, Louisiane Devaud, Jean-Claude Bacri, Sophie Asnacios, Atef Asnacios, Cyprien Gay, Philippe Marcq, Claire Wilhelm, and Myriam Reffay
Phys. Rev. E 105, 054407 – Published 11 May 2022
PDFHTMLExport Citation

Abstract

Tissues are generally subjected to external stresses, a potential stimulus for their differentiation or remodeling. While single-cell rheology has been extensively studied leading to controversial results about nonlinear response, mechanical tissue behavior under external stress is still poorly understood, in particular, the way individual cell properties translate at the tissue level. Herein, using magnetic cells we were able to form perfectly monitored cellular aggregates (magnetic molding) and to deform them under controlled applied stresses over a wide range of timescales and amplitudes (magnetic rheometer). We explore the rheology of these minimal tissue models using both standard assays (creep and oscillatory response) as well as an innovative broad spectrum solicitation coupled with inference analysis thus being able to determine in a single experiment the best rheological model. We find that multicellular aggregates exhibit a power-law response with nonlinearities leading to tissue stiffening at high stress. Moreover, we reveal the contribution of intracellular (actin network) and intercellular components (cell-cell adhesions) in this aggregate rheology.

  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
8 More
  • Received 13 September 2021
  • Revised 18 February 2022
  • Accepted 24 March 2022

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.105.054407

©2022 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Physics of Living SystemsInterdisciplinary Physics

Authors & Affiliations

Gaëtan Mary1,*, François Mazuel1,*, Vincent Nier2, Florian Fage1, Irène Nagle1, Louisiane Devaud1, Jean-Claude Bacri1, Sophie Asnacios1,3, Atef Asnacios1, Cyprien Gay1, Philippe Marcq2,3,4, Claire Wilhelm1,2, and Myriam Reffay1,†

  • 1Laboratoire Matière et Systèmes Complexes, UMR 7057, CNRS and Université de Paris Cité, 75205 Paris cedex 13, France
  • 2Laboratoire Physico Chimie Curie, UMR 168, CNRS, Institut Curie, PSL University, Sorbonne Université, 75005 Paris, France
  • 3Faculty of Science and Engineering, UFR 925 Physics, Sorbonne Université, Paris France
  • 4Laboratoire Physique et Mécanique des Matériaux Hétérogènes, CNRS, ESPCI Paris, PSL University, Sorbonne Université, Université de Paris Cité, 75005 Paris, France

  • *These authors contributed equally to this work.
  • myriam.reffay@u-paris.fr

Article Text (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

Supplemental Material (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

References (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 105, Iss. 5 — May 2022

Reuse & Permissions
Access Options
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review E

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×