Single cell mechanics: stress stiffening and kinematic hardening
arXiv:0706.3883 · doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.238102
Abstract
Cell mechanical properties are fundamental to the organism but remain poorly understood. We report a comprehensive phenomenological framework for the nonlinear rheology of single fibroblast cells: a superposition of elastic stiffening and viscoplastic kinematic hardening. Our results show, that in spite of cell complexity its mechanical properties can be cast into simple, well-defined rules, which provide mechanical cell strength and robustness via control of crosslink slippage.
4 pages, 6 figures