Abstract
Cellular contractile forces are associated with morphogenesis. So far, two different techniques have been employed to characterize the behavior of cell colonies with a focus on spatial and temporal changes in their contractile forces. One study utilized a micro-pillars fabricated with soft-lithography. From the deflection of the micro-pillars upon exertion of cell-substrate contractile forces, they obtained spatial distributions of cellular traction during cell collective migration. In a separate study, another group reported changes in traction forces during collective cell migration based on displacement of fluorescent microbeads within a hydrogel on which individual cells are plated. Strain fields were extracted with an image correlation analysis of the original displacement field images. Stress fields were then obtained from the strain fields by combining the mechanical properties of the hydorogel. Thus, several studies have been reported to understand mechanics during collective cell migration, but molecular details underlying the mechanisms remain largely unknown. Here we have developed an alternative approach to study mechanics of cell colonies.
