It is now widely appreciated that normal tissue morphology and function rely upon cells'
ability to sense and generate forces appropriate to their correct tissue context. Although the …

The role of mechanical properties in cancer disease and inflammation is still
underinvestigated and even ignored in many oncological and immunological reviews. In …

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly aggressive malignancy with a dismal
survival rate. Persistent activation of pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) can perturb the …

Cell invasion through a dense three-dimensional (3D) matrix is believed to depend on the
ability of cells to generate traction forces. To quantify the role of cell tractions during invasion …

The coordinated interplay of cytoskeletal networks critically determines tissue biomechanics
and structural integrity. Here, we show that plectin, a major intermediate filament-based …

In cancer metastasis and other physiological processes, cells migrate through the three-
dimensional (3D) extracellular matrix of connective tissue and must overcome the steric …

Cell migration through connective tissue, or cell invasion, is a fundamental biomechanical
process during metastasis formation. Cell invasion usually requires cell adhesion to the …

New developments in the microrheology of complex fluids are considered. Firstly the
requirements for a simple modern particle tracking microrheology experiment are …

The cytoskeletal protein vinculin contributes to the mechanical link of the contractile
actomyosin cytoskeleton to the extracellular matrix (ECM) through integrin receptors. In …

With the recent revolution in Molecular Biology and the deciphering of the Human Genome,
understanding of the building blocks that comprise living systems has advanced rapidly. We …