Pulling membrane tethers from live CHO cells

The video shows how an optical trap can be used to pull membrane tethers from live cells. The CHO cells are immobilized onto a glass substrate and brought into contact with an optically trapped microsphere which is coated with ligands that specifically bind to the cell surface. Depending on the contact time, the speed of pulling, etc. tethers can be pulled from the cell membrane.

Such experiments allow the direct assessment of cell membrane dynamics and organization, as well as the precise measurement of the forces involved in such membrane tube formation. More details of the experiment can be found in this application report.

* CHO cells and coated microspheres courtesy of Christian Sieben and Prof. Andreas Herrmann, Humboldt University Berlin