Substrate Stiffness Mediates Formation of Novel Cytoskeletal Structures in Fibroblasts during Cell–Microspheres Interaction

It is well known that living cells interact mechanically with their microenvironment. Many basic cell functions, like migration, proliferation, gene expression, and differentiation, are influenced by external forces exerted on the cell. That is why it is extremely important to study how mechanical properties of the culture substrate influence the cellular molecular regulatory pathways. Optical microscopy is one of the most common experimental method used to visualize and study cellular processes. Confocal microscopy allows to observe changes in the 3D organization of the cytoskeleton in response to a precise mechanical stimulus applied with, for example, a bead trapped with optical tweezers. Optical tweezers-based method (OT) is a microrheological technique which employs a focused laser beam and polystyrene or latex beads to study mechanical properties of biological systems. Latex beads, functionalized with a specific protein, can interact with proteins located on the surface of the cellular membrane. Such interaction can significantly affect the cell’s behavior. In this work, we demonstrate that beads alone, placed on the cell surface, significantly change the architecture of actin, microtubule, and intermediate filaments. We also show that the observed molecular response to such stimulus depends on the duration of the cell–bead interaction. Application of cytoskeletal drugs: cytochalasin D, jasplakinolide, and docetaxel, abrogates remodeling effects of the cytoskeleton. More important, when cells are plated on elastic substrates, which mimic the mechanical properties of physiological cellular environment, we observe formation of novel, “cup-like” structures formed by the microtubule cytoskeleton upon interaction with latex beads. These results provide new insights into the function of the microtubule cytoskeleton. Based on these results, we conclude that rigidity of the substrate significantly affects the cellular processes related to every component of the cytoskeleton, especially their architecture.