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Published in

The Company of Biologists, Journal of Cell Science, 2012

DOI: 10.1242/jcs.106005

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Atomic force microscopy – looking at mechanosensors on the cell surface

Journal article published in 2012 by Jürgen J. Heinisch, Peter N. Lipke, Audrey Beaussart ORCID, Sofiane El Kirat Chatel, Sofiane El Kirat Chatel, Vincent Dupres ORCID, David Alsteens ORCID, Yves F. Dufrêne
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Abstract

Living cells use cell surface proteins, such as mechanosensors, to constantly sense and respond to their environment. However, the way in which these proteins respond to mechanical stimuli and assemble into large complexes remains poorly understood at the molecular level. In the past years, atomic force microscopy (AFM) has revolutionized the way in which biologists analyze cell surface proteins to molecular resolution. In this Commentary, we discuss how the powerful set of advanced AFM techniques (e.g. live-cell imaging and single-molecule manipulation) can be integrated with the modern tools of molecular genetics (i.e. protein design) to study the localization and molecular elasticity of individual mechanosensors on the surface of living cells. Although we emphasize recent studies on cell surface proteins from yeasts, the techniques described are applicable to surface proteins from virtually all organisms, from bacteria to human cells.