Biophysical Society Thematic Meeting | Singapore

Mechanobiology of Disease

Poster Abstracts

74-POS Board 74 Nuclear Positioning and Its Translation Dynamics is Regulated by Cell Geometry Radhakrishnan AV 1 , Saradha Venkatachalapathy 1 , Shivashankar G.V. 1,2,3 . 1 National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore, 2 National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore, 3 Italian 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.

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