434 培養ラット胸大動脈平滑筋細胞の引張特性と細胞内アクチンフィラメント分布の計測

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We have measured and compared tensile properties of cultured smooth muscle cells (CSMCs) obtained from rat thoracic aortas, and those of the CSMCs whose actin filament networks had been disrupted with cytochalasin D (CSMCs-CYD). Tensile properties of these cells were measured using a micro tensile tester developed in our laboratory. A cell in a dish was held with two glass micropipettes, an operation pipette and a deflection pipette. The operation pipette was moved with a computer-controlled electrical manipulator to stretch the cell horizontally. The rate of pipette movement was set to keep the strain rate in each cell within the range of 0.6-3%/s, in which the elastic modulus did not change significantly in our system. The force applied to the cell was measured by the deflection of the cantilever part of the deflection pipette. We have also observed their actin filament distribution while the cells remained stretched after the tensile test. The actin filament concentration in the central region of the cells had significant correlation with their elastic modulus.
2003-08-05