Cellular force exertion in 3D: how to quantify and its role for pathological angiogenesis - Hans van Oosterwyck (KU Leuven, Belgium)

During this seminar, I will first cover our recent work on cellular force quantification, and in particular the workflow we have developed to make 3D Traction Force Microscopy (3D TFM) compatible with a 3D in vitro assay for sprouting angiogenesis. I will discuss our recently published inverse method for 3D TFM and the way we have evaluated its accuracy under conditions that are representative for real 3D TFM experiments. Second, I will demonstrate the importance of aberrant force exertion for pathological angiogenesis in the context of cerebral cavernous malformations, a disease that affects brain microcapillary function. By integrating 3D TFM with live confocal imaging, matrix degradation assays, immunohistochemistry and single cell RNA sequencing, we have discovered novel mechanisms on the way mutant endothelial cells can recruit healthy endothelial cells, in this way potentially contributing to lesion growth.

Contacts: Daniel Selma-Herrador and Martial Balland