On Solid Ground

A beachside ambler strolling along the soft sand looks quite different to the strained and stretched out limbs of a rock climber on a sheer face. What’s beneath us affects how we move. The same is true of cells. Researchers looked at how immune cells, called T cells, reacted on surfaces of differing stiffness – of the kind that can be found within the human body. They found the stiffest surfaces caused T cells to become more active, multiply, and produce more signalling chemicals. Using scanning electron microscopy (pictured) they found T cells on increasingly stiff surfaces (left to right) extended projections along the surface that were thicker and wider. These clues to how T cells respond to changing stiffness could prove helpful in understanding how they combat disease and infection, where inflamed tissues are often more rigid.

Written by Lux Fatimathas

Lux Fatimathas

Writer

Having pursued science through a career in research, communications and publishing, she is currently a writer and editor for a healthcare marketing agency and also juggles freelance science writing.

• Image adapted from work by Michael Saitakis and colleagues
• Institut Curie Section Recherche, INSERM U932 & PSL Research University, Paris, France
• Image originally published under a Creative Commons Licence (BY 4.0)
• Published in eLife, June 2017