Force sensors for measuring microenvironmental forces during mesenchymal condensation

Research Overview

Mechanical forces drive early tissue formation, yet few techniques can quantify the mechanical microenvironment inside cell-dense neotissues and organoids. This study introduced hyper-compliant microparticles as embedded force sensors: by monitoring particle deformation across space and time, the forces cells exert — and have exerted on them — can be measured directly during tissue formation.

Applied to mesenchymal stem cells self-assembling into spheroids and condensing into cohesive units, an array analysis using a high-content imaging system showed cells exerting a wide range of tensile and compressive forces during the first few hours of self-assembly, followed by a period of relative equilibrium. Coating the particles with collagen increased the tensile forces cells could apply, linking adhesion to force transmission.