Tensegrity architecture provides a structure, such as a living cell, with the ability to resist distortion of shape when a mechanical stress is applied to it.

The findings appear in today's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

The team developed unique computational engineering models and two new technologies, Fourier Transform Traction Microscopy and Oscillatory Magnetic Twisting Cytometry, that enabled them to accurately test their predictions of how cells would respond to stresses applied to the surface of the cell.

The findings confirmed their prediction that the stiffness of a cell must be closely related to the tensile stresses carried by microfilaments, an important part of the cytoskeleton.

The findings further suggest that tensegrity may help to explain how cell mechanical properties arise through cooperative interactions among the cytoskeletal filaments in living cells.

Jeffrey Fredberg, professor of bioengineering and physiology at the Harvard School of Public Health and a senior member of the research team said, "The findings show that the stiffness of a cell is determined more by the tension in the microfilaments in a cell, rather than the stiffness of those filaments. The cell is like a pup tent. The stiffness of the tent and its ability to withstand a wind-load depends mostly upon the tension in the tethers, and hardly at all upon the stiffness of the tethers, the posts, or the canvas. Loosen the tethers and the tent becomes floppy; pull up the tent pegs and the tent collapses. In the case of the tent, shape-stability is conferred by tension. And so it might be in cells."

Cell mechanical properties such as these come into play in the course of many normal cell functions and in disorders such as infections, vascular disease, asthma and cancer. Tensegrity gives a different picture of how these basic processes might work.

The research was supported by grants from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI).

Harvard School of Public Health is dedicated to advancing the public's health through learning, discovery and communication. More than 300 faculty members are engaged in teaching and training the 800-plus student body in a broad spectrum of disciplines crucial to the health and well being of individuals and populations around the world.

Programs and projects range from the molecular biology of AIDS vaccines to the epidemiology of cancer; from risk analysis to violence prevention; from maternal and children's health to quality of care measurement; from health care management to international health and human rights.

Related websites:

Harvard School of Public Health

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

[Contact: Kevin Myron]

03-Jul-2001