Project
New mechanobiology approaches to discover how immune cells use forces to recognize and kill prey
Many immune cell processes are regulated by mechanical cues and involve generation of cellular forces. For example, phagocytosis by macrophages is more effective for stiffer than softer prey and T cells put cancer cells under tension to assist in killing them. Cancer cells are, in fact, typically very soft, and may avoid immune recognition because of this softness. Understanding how immune cell processes are regulated by mechanics could pave the way for new immunotherapies.
Studying regulation of immune cells by mechanical cues has been challenging because we’re missing appropriate tools. We develop biophysical techniques, such as tiny stress balls for immune cells that act as force sensors. We’re pushing these techniques further to allow increasingly detailed mechanical measurements and expand the contexts in which they can be made. The tools we develop are always designed to answer specific biological questions on how a variety of immune cell types use forces to recognise and kill prey.