Cells of the body and their reactions to mechanical stimulation under investigation
How do physical forces and mechanics affect the functioning of individual cells? The answer to this question is being searched for by the Cellular Biophysics Research Group led by Teemu Ihalainen at Tampere University. The research group aims at developing applications to complement cell therapy or cancer treatments.
Teemu Ihalainen, the leader of the research group and manager of the microscopy unit, has a PhD in Molecular Biology and Docentship in Cellular Biophysics. His doctoral dissertation completed at the University of Jyväskylä in 2009 focused on changes in cells caused by viral infections. During that time, he also developed an interest in microscopy and the possibilities it offered in research on the physiology of the cells.
The processes we now study are connected to cell differentiation, organism development and many diseases, such as cancer, says Ihalainen. In phenomenon-based basic research, our aim is to understand how cells react to different kinds of mechanical stimuli.
Multidisciplinary research serves the development of cell therapy and cancer treatments
In the future, the knowledge collected by Ihalainen’s research group may form the foundation for the development of various cell therapy and cancer treatment applications, especially in cases of metastasis. Metastasizing means that cancer cells break away from the original (primary) tumor, travel through the blood or lymph system, and form a new tumor in other organs or tissues of the body.
This multidisciplinary research combines physics, material sciences, cell biology and modern light microscopy. The light microscope that is often used in biological research and material sciences uses visible light and lenses to form a magnified picture, by means of which even details of the size of 0,2 micrometres can be distinguished. In practice, the light microscope can detect individual cells and subcellular structures or bacteria, for example.
In coming years, we will develop more methods by means of which we can manipulate cells at the microscale and follow their reactions to various physical stimuli in real time, describes Ihalainen.
– We will focus on the interplay of the electric functions of the cells and mechanics and on how the genotype of the cells reacts to mechanical forces. In addition to this, we aim to develop cell-based soft robotics in which cells produce forces, which enables the movement of soft materials.
Keywords: molecular biology, biophysics, cell biology, cell therapy, Tampere University, Tampere Institute for Advanced Study