Biophysical Society Thematic Meeting | Singapore

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Mechanobiology of Disease Poster Abstracts
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74-POS Board 74
Nuclear Positioning and Its Translation Dynamics is Regulated by Cell Geometry
Radhakrishnan AV1, Saradha Venkatachalapathy1, Shivashankar G.V. 1,2,3.
1National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore, 2National University of Singapore,
Singapore, Singapore, 3Italian Foundation for Cancer Research, Milan, Italy.
The collective activity of several molecular motors and other active processes generate large
forces for directional motion within the cell and a background of fluctuating forces. These
processes are vital for a multitude of cellular functions such as migration, division and
contraction. In addition, they can also influence the transport and positioning of many cellular
organelles by affecting their intracellular dynamics. This creates unique biophysical signatures
which are altered in many diseases. In this study, we have used the nucleus as a probe particle to
understand the micro-rheological properties of the cytoplasm by using micropatterning
techniques to confine cells in two structurally and functionally extreme geometries. We find that
nuclear positional dynamics is sensitive to the cytoskeletal organization by studying the effect of
actin polymerization, nuclear rigidity, and TNFα cytokine stimulation on the position and
diffusive behavior of the nucleus. Taken together, our results suggest that mapping nuclear
positional dynamics provides important insights into biophysical properties of the cytoplasm.
These biophysical signatures could also be used as an ultrasensitive single-cell assay for early
disease diagnostics.