抄録
Living body adapts to surrounding mechanical conditions. It has been reported that cells respond to not only biochemical stimulation but also mechanical stimulation. However, their mechanisms have not been clarified, especially when dynamic mechanical stimulation is applied to cells. Recent years, evidence has been growing that focal adhesions act as mechanosensors of cells which convert mechanical force into biochemical signaling. Focal adhesions are multi-protein structures that form mechanical links between cytoskeletons and extracellular matrixes. To make clear mechanisms of mechanosensors, it is necessary to give mechanical force to the focal adhesion and to observe effects of cells. A magnetic micropillar substrate can directly apply mechanical stimulation to each focal adhesion, which is a particular micropillar substrate embedding micron-sized magnetic particles. Pillars was cyclically deflected by a cyclic external magnetic field. Since the magnetic micropillar substrate is transparent, cells can be observed with a phase contrast and a fluorescence microscope. In this study, to understand how cells biochemically respond by sensing cyclically deflected pillars, we simultaneously observed phase contrast and fluorescent micrographs. The findings indicate that the micro device can used to observe biochemical signaling and investigate mechanosensing systems of cell migration.
