This detailed book collects methodologies exploring mechanobiology, the involvement of mechanical forces in cell fate specification and in controlling single and collective cell behaviors such as directed migration, morphogenesis, wound healing, and the immune response. The volume features methods to quantify the mechanical properties of cells and adhesion proteins, to expose cells to external mechanical forces, to quantitatively characterize mechano-responses at various scales, to measure forces applied by cells on the extracellular matrix, as well as chapters on force measurement inside cells, probing cell signaling and gene expression in response to force, and biophysical modeling of cell shape and protein dynamics. Written for the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary material and reagents, step-by-step and readily reproducible protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.
Authoritative and practical, Mechanobiology: Methods and Protocols aims to provide meaningful tools for cell and developmental biologists approaching the study of cell and tissue dynamics from a mechanobiological perspective, molecular biologists interested in the effects of force on proteins, as well as for cancer biologists and biophysicists.