The pericellular coat is a hyaluronan-rich polymer network anchored to the plasma membrane of many mammalian cell types. Invisible due to its high water content, the extended matrix is often several microns thick, and it has been shown to dramatically influence cell function. In particular, this swollen, highly-negatively charged matrix appears to influence cell adhesion related events such as migration and proliferation.  How much these effects are due to the coat's physical properties versus its chemical functionality remains unclear. We present a novel tools to investigate the mechanics and structure of the cell coat on living cells, and combine measurements with polymer theory to determine the macromolecular organization of the coat at the cell surface.

At the invisible rim: Optical force probe measurements of the cell coat

242nd National Meeting (2011)

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