2026-10-14T02:15:27Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/30051319 2026-09-15T07:02:12Z category_1 portal_81 item_type_3 month_year_09_2026

CFM: Confinement Force Microscopy-a dynamic, precise and stable microconfiner for traction force microscopy in spatial confinement Fatemeh Abbasi (22181639) Katharina Rieck (22181642) matthias brandt (22181643) maja matis (22181645) eva kiermaier (22181648) Timo betz (22181649) Biophysics Cell confinement Traction Force Microscopy We present a microconfiner platform that enables real-time adjustment of vertical confinement during live-cell imaging, while enabling the measurement of both lateral and normal cellular forces—a method we term confinement force microscopy (CFM). Using this system, we identify two distinct mechanical responses to single-step confinement: an immediate, short-term stress spike that likely reflects a passive response from nuclear compression against the gel, and a slower, long-term active response involving actomyosin contraction and cellular adaptation. The short-term response scales with confinement severity, while the long-term adaptation drives internal pressure buildup, bleb formation, and sustained force generation. We further show that myosin II inhibition suppress the active stress buildup and attenuate the passive, short-term stress jump by markedly lowering the instantaneous elastic modulus and reducing effective viscosity, thereby weakening load transmission at the step. Together, our system provides a powerful platform to dissect how cells generate, resist, and adapt to mechanical pressure in tissue-like environments. 2026-09-15T07:02:12Z Dataset Dataset 10.6084/m9.figshare.30051319.v1 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/CFM_Confinement_Force_Microscopy-a_dynamic_precise_and_stable_microconfiner_for_traction_force_microscopy_in_spatial_confinement/30051319 CC BY 4.0