QUANTITATIVE MEASUREMENTS OF DICTYOSTELIUM DISCOIDEUM AMOEBA SHEAR STRESS-DEPENDENT CELL ADHESION ANALYSIS AND MOTION IN A MICROFLUIDIC DEVICE

Cell adhesion is a fundamental biological process that involves the interaction and attachment of cells to their neighbors or the extracellular matrix (ECM) through specialized protein complexes 1 .These adhesion proteins serve not only as physical connectors but also as receptors that initiate signaling pathways 2 , thus transmitting information from the external environment to the cell's interior and enabling appropriate responses.Shear stress, an external mechanical force, influences different types of cells through mechanotransduction 3 , affecting cell adhesion and gene expression 4 .While the molecular mechanisms of cell adhesion under shear stress have been extensively studied, the mechanical aspects, including adhesion strength, remain a focus of ongoing research 5 .Traditional methods to study cell adhesion strength under shear stress involve macroscale setups, which have limitations such as low throughput and complexity.Microfluidic devices offer a more efficient and versatile platform for these studies, characterized by their small channels, which ensure laminar flow and consistent shear stresses, and require minimal reagent amounts.