A5063835013- Cellular Mechanics and Interactions
- Force Microscopy Techniques and Applications
- Lipid Membrane Structure and Behavior
- 3D Printing in Biomedical Research
- RNA Interference and Gene Delivery
- Skin and Cellular Biology Research
- Mechanical and Optical Resonators
- Advanced biosensing and bioanalysis techniques
- Microfluidic and Bio-sensing Technologies
- Molecular Junctions and Nanostructures
- Spectroscopy and Quantum Chemical Studies
- Cell Adhesion Molecules Research
- Advanced Fluorescence Microscopy Techniques
- Surfactants and Colloidal Systems
- Erythrocyte Function and Pathophysiology
- Tendon Structure and Treatment
- Spaceflight effects on biology
- Cardiomyopathy and Myosin Studies
- Polymer Surface Interaction Studies
- Biomedical and Chemical Research
- Microtubule and mitosis dynamics
- Nanofabrication and Lithography Techniques
- Biotin and Related Studies
- Biochemical and Structural Characterization
- Muscle Physiology and Disorders
Forschungszentrum Jülich
2016-2025
University of Bonn
1994-2016
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
2002-2008
Centre Interdisciplinaire de Nanoscience de Marseille
2008
Jagiellonian University
2007
Institute of Physics
2007
Westfälische Hochschule
2004
Technical University of Munich
1989-2003
Stanford University
2002-2003
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2002-2003
Tissue homeostasis requires maintenance of functional integrity under stress. A central source stress is mechanical force that acts on cells, their nuclei, and chromatin, but how the genome protected against unclear. We show stretch deforms nucleus, which cells initially counteract via a calcium-dependent nuclear softening driven by loss H3K9me3-marked heterochromatin. The resulting changes in chromatin rheology architecture are required to insulate genetic material from force. Failure mount...
Significance For decades, researchers have been trying to unravel one of the key questions in cell biology regarding keratin intermediate filament function protecting epithelial cells against mechanical stress. many different reasons, however, this fundamental hypothesis was still unproven. Here we answer pivotal question by use KO lacking complete gene clusters result total loss filaments. This lack significantly softens cells, reduces viscosity, and elevates plastic deformation on force...
AbstractAutophagy, a pathway primarily relevant for cell survival, and apoptosis, process invariably leading to death, are the two main mechanisms of cellular self-destruction, which essential in growth, neurodegeneration, tumor suppression, stress immune response. Currently, potential crosstalk between apoptosis autophagy is subject intensive investigations since recently some direct junctions became obvious. The respective protein-protein interaction network, however, remains be elucidated...
Recognition of external mechanical signals is vital for mammalian cells. Cyclic stretch, e.g. around blood vessels, one such signal that induces cell reorientation from parallel to almost perpendicular the direction stretch. Here, we present quantitative analyses both, and cytoskeletal umbilical cord fibroblasts. strain preset amplitudes was applied at mHz frequencies. Elastomeric chambers were specifically designed characterized distinguish between zero minimal stress directions allow...
Direct delivery of proteins and peptides into living mammalian cells has been accomplished using phospholipid liposomes as carrier particles. Such are usually taken up via endocytosis where the main part their cargo is degraded in lysosomes before reaching its destination. Here, fusogenic liposomes, a newly developed molecular system, were used for protein delivery. When such loaded with water-soluble brought contact cells, liposomal membrane efficiently fused cellular plasma delivering...
Cardiomyocytes are responsible for the permanent blood flow by coordinated heart contractions. This vital function is accomplished over a long period of time with almost same performance, although properties, as its elasticity, change drastically upon aging or result diseases like myocardial infarction. In this paper we have analyzed late rat embryonic muscle cells' morphology, sarcomere/costamere formation and force generation patterns on substrates various elasticities ranging from ∼1 to...
The unique mechanical performance of animal cells and tissues is attributed mostly to their internal biopolymer meshworks. Its perplexing universality robustness against structural modifications by drugs mutations an enigma in cell biology provides formidable challenges materials science. Recent investigations could pinpoint highly universal patterns the soft glassy rheology nonlinear elasticity reconstituted networks. Here, we report observations a glass transition semidilute F-actin...
MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout JournalEditorsTheme Sections 187:101-111 (1999) - doi:10.3354/meps187101 Colonies of Phaeocystis globosa are protected by a thin but tough skin Christian E. Hamm1,*, Doris A. Simson2, Rudolf Merkel2, Victor Smetacek1 1Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Research, Postfach 120161, D-27515 Bremerhaven, Germany 2Physics Department...
Efficient delivery of biomolecules into membranes living cells as well cell surface modifications are major biotechnological challenges. Here, novel liposome systems based on neutral and cationic lipids in combination with modified by aromatic groups introduced for such applications. The fusion efficiency these was tested single culture like HEK293, myofibroblasts, cortical neurons, human macrophages, smooth muscle cells, even tissue. Fusogenic liposomes enabled highly efficient...
In this paper a rapid and highly efficient method for controlled incorporation of fluorescent lipids into living mammalian cells is introduced. Here, the molecules have two consecutive functions: First, they trigger membrane fusion between cellular plasma membranes lipid bilayers their carrier particles, so called fusogenic liposomes, second, after insertion these enable fluorescence imaging cell traffic processes. We tested derivatives following essential fusion: Ceramide, sphingomyelin,...
Filamin c (FLNc) is a large dimeric actin-binding protein located at premyofibrils, myofibrillar Z-discs and attachment sites of striated muscle cells, where it involved in mechanical stabilization, mechanosensation intracellular signaling. Mutations the gene encoding FLNc give rise to skeletal diseases cardiomyopathies. Here, we demonstrate by fluorescence recovery after photobleaching that fraction highly mobile cultured neonatal mouse cardiomyocytes cardiac muscles live transgenic...
Cationic liposomes are frequently used as carrier particles for nucleic acid delivery. The most popular formulation is the equimolar mixture of two components, a cationic lipid and neutral phosphoethanolamine. Its uptake pathway has been described endocytosis. presence an aromatic molecule third component strongly influences cellular process results in complete membrane fusion instead Here, we systematically varied all three components this determined how efficiently resulting fused with...
Abstract Adherent cells exert traction forces on to their environment which allows them migrate, maintain tissue integrity, and form complex multicellular structures during developmental morphogenesis. Traction force microscopy (TFM) enables the measurement of an elastic substrate thereby provides quantitative information cellular mechanics in a perturbation-free fashion. In TFM, is usually calculated via solution linear system, complicated by undersampled input data, acquisition noise,...