Vinculin-GFP plasmid was a gift from Kenneth Yamada, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, Bethesda, Maryland, and actin-mRFP plasmid was a gift from Michael Davidson, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida.
This work was supported by NSF Career award #0747334 and AHA-National SDG #0835205N to Andreea Trache.

1. Overview of the Integrated Microscope System
The microscope system that is used for these studies has been described in detail 1. Briefly, an inverted Olympus IX-81 microscope with TIRF attachment (Olympus, Center Valley, PA) is combined with CSU-22 Yokogawa scanning head (Yokogawa Electric Inc, Japan). A Bioscope SZ atomic force microscope (Veeco Instruments Inc, Santa Barbara, CA) is mounted on top of the optical inverted microscope, and the entire system is placed on top of a r...

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H. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Atomic+force+microscope.">Atomic force microscope.</a> Phys Rev Lett. 56, 930-933 (1986).</li><li>Stamenovi&#263;, D. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Cytoskeletal+mechanics+in+airway+smooth+muscle+cells.">Cytoskeletal mechanics in airway smooth muscle cells.</a> Respir Physiol Neurobiol. 163, 25-32 (2008).</li><li>Gunst, S. J., Tang, D. 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No conflicts of interest declared.

Cytoskeleton 7-10 and focal adhesions 11-16 are dynamic structures that assemble, disperse and turn over as cells migrate or respond to mechanical force 17. They have significant functions in regulating cell growth, survival, and gene expression. Knowing their specific distribution and dynamics provides a better understanding of how cells communicate with the matrix and between themselves.
This new microscope system is broadly applicable across a wide range of...

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		<table border="1">
		<thead>
		<tr>
		<th>Material Name</th>
		<th>Type</th>
		<th>Company</th>
		<th>Catalogue Number</th>
		<th>Comment</th>
		</tr>
		</thead>
		<tbody>
		
<tr>
<td>AFM tip</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Novascan Technologies</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>2 micron Borosilicate bead, 0.01N/m, Biotin Surface</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>avidin</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
<td>A9275</td>
<td>1mg/mL in DPBS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Fibronectin</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
<td>F4759</td>
<td>1 mg/mL</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>DPBS</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Invitrogen</td>
<td>21600-051</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>Amaxa transfection kit for Smooth Muscle Cells</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Lonza</td>
<td>VPI-1004</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>Mattek glass bottom dishes</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>MatTek Corporation</td>
<td>P60G-1.5-30-F</td>
<td>Sterile 60mm Falcon dishes with glass bottom coverslip no. 1.5</td>
</tr>		</tbody>
		</table>
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live cell response to mechanical stimulation studied by integrated optical and atomic force microscopy

To understand the mechanism by which living cells sense mechanical forces, and how they respond and adapt to their environment, a new technology able to investigate cells behavior at sub-cellular level with high spatial and temporal resolution was developed. Thus, an atomic force microscope (AFM) was integrated with total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy and fast-spinning disk (FSD) confocal microscopy. The integrated system is broadly applicable across a wide range of molecular dynamic studies in any adherent live cells, allowing direct optical imaging of cell responses to mechanical stimulation in real-time. Significant rearrangement of the actin filaments and focal adhesions was shown due to local mechanical stimulation at the apical cell surface that induced changes into the cellular structure throughout the cell body. These innovative techniques will provide new information for understanding live cell restructuring and dynamics in response to mechanical force. A detailed protocol and a representative data set that show live cell response to mechanical stimulation are presented.

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Live Cell Response to Mechanical Stimulation Studied by Integrated Optical and Atomic Force Microscopy at JoVE.com

Live Cell Response to Mechanical Stimulation Studied by Integrated Optical and Atomic Force Microscopy

This paper aims to instruct the reader in the operation of an integrated atomic force-optical imaging microscope for mechanical stimulation of live cells in culture. A step-by-step protocol is presented. A representative data set that shows live cell response to mechanical stimulation is presented.

To understand the mechanism by which living cells sense mechanical forces, and how they respond and adapt to their environment, a new technology able to ...

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11.2K Views.  Texas A&M Health Science Center. This paper aims to instruct the reader in the operation of an integrated atomic force-optical imaging microscope for mechanical stimulation of live cells in culture. A step-by-step protocol is presented. A representative data set that shows live cell response to mechanical stimulation is presented.