Generation and application of three-dimensional cell traction force / 中国组织工程研究

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Traction force generated by adherent cells exerts on the extracellular matrix or cell substrate through the interaction between actin and myosin, which involves a variety of physiological and pathological processes.OBJECTIVE: To review the fundamental principles and application of several traction force techniques.METHODS: The first author retrieved the databases of CNKI, WanFang, PubMed and SpringerLink for the research addressing the measurements of traction force using the keywords of cell traction force, biomechanics in Chinese and English, respectively. Repetitive articles were excluded, and 30 literatures were enrolled for analysis, including 1 Chinese and 29 English articles.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: There are three kinds of measurements of traction force, such as silica gel membrane, traction force microscopy, and micromachined levers. The precise measurement of traction force contributes to further understand the cell-cell and cell-microenvironment mechanical interactions.