Biology subjects

Footer, M. J.

Publications and source records attributed to Footer, M. J..

6 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Sterilization and material compatibility of 3D-printed devices for cell culture

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is increasingly used in cell biology to prototype custom cell culture devices, microscopy chambers, and other experimental hardware, but practical guidance on sterilization and material compatibility remains limited. Here, we develop and validate a low-temperature paraformaldehyde vapor sterilization method for fused filament fabrication (FFF) components that avoids heat-induced deformation. Using bacterial challenge assays with Escherichia coli and Geobacillus stearothermophilus, we confirm effective sterilization of 3D printed components. We also assess the effects of common filaments and adhesives on HL-60 human cell growth to identify materials suitable for cell culture workflows. Most untreated plastics were well tolerated over 48 hours, whereas some formaldehyde-treated materials required post-treatment with ammonia vapor to restore compatibility. Together, these results provide a practical framework for sterilizing and deploying 3D-printed materials in cell culture and biological research. Multidisciplinary Abstract3D printers allow laboratories to quickly make custom experimental equipment, but many printed materials cannot be sterilized using standard methods. We developed a low-temperature sterilization procedure using paraformaldehyde vapor and tested whether common printing materials and adhesives are compatible with cultured human cells. We identified several plastics, silicone-based adhesives and acrylic tapes that can be safely used after sterilization, while others require additional ammonia treatment. These results provide guidance for researchers using 3D printing to build custom laboratory and cell culture devices. Methods SummaryA low-temperature paraformaldehyde vapor sterilization method for 3D-printed FFF components was developed and validated using bacterial challenge assays. Compatibility of common printing filaments, adhesives, and tapes with cell culture workflows was assessed by exposing HL-60 cells to untreated, sterilized, and ammonia- neutralized materials and quantifying cell growth by flow cytometry.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2024

Galvanin is an electric-field sensor for directed cell migration

Directed cell migration of immune and epithelial cells is critical for their rapid response to tissue injury or infection. Endogenous electric fields generated by disruption of the transepithelial potential across the skin have been postulated to play an important role in guiding cells to wound sites, though how individual cells sense these tissue-scale physical cues remains largely unknown. We have identified Galvanin (TMEM154), a previously uncharacterized single-pass transmembrane protein, as being required for electric-field-guided migration of individual rapidly moving cells. Galvanin functions in both immune and epithelial cell types. Upon exposure of cells to an electric field, Galvanin rapidly relocalizes to the anodal side of a cell, and the net charge on its extracellular domain is necessary and sufficient to drive this spatial relocalization. Furthermore, expression of Galvanin is sufficient to confer electric field-guided migration on otherwise non-responsive epithelial cells. In human neutrophils, we show that Galvanin relocalization is immediately followed by changes in the spatial pattern of cellular protrusion and retraction. The strong directional response of these cells is lost upon truncation of Galvanins intracellular domain, suggesting that Galvanin acts as a direct sensor of the electric field, transducing spatial information about a cells electrical environment to the intracellular migratory apparatus. This sensor relocalization mechanism of cell steering defines a new paradigm for directed cell migration.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2022

Cell migration CRISPRi screens in human neutrophils reveal regulators of context-dependent migration and differentiation state

Neutrophils are the most abundant leukocyte in humans and provide a critical early line of defense as part of our innate immune system. Their exquisite sensitivity to chemical gradients and ability to rapidly migrate make them especially suited to protect against infection. However, their terminal differentiation status and short lifetime (on the order of days) have hindered their study. Furthermore, while modern CRISPR-based gene perturbation strategies now allow comprehensive, genome-scale screens in human cells, their application to complex and dynamic processes like cell migration remain limited. Using HL-60 cells, a leukemia cell line that can be differentiated into neutrophil-like cells, we have developed multiple cell migration screen strategies that provide comprehensive, genome-wide discovery of molecular factors that are critical for directed (chemotaxis), undirected (chemokinesis), and 3D amoeboid cell migration in these fast-moving cells. Combining these assays with additional, pooled, genome-wide CRISPR interference dropout screens of cell proliferation and neutrophil differentiation, we have identified a comprehensive set of genes that are important across the processes of cellular growth, differentiation, and migration. This combined dataset highlights a particular reliance upon mTORC1 signaling that alters neutrophil lifetime, migration phenotype, and sensitivity to chemotactic cues. Across our cell migration screens, we identified several hundred genes important for migration including those with specific roles only in particular migratory contexts. This genome-wide screening strategy, therefore, provides an invaluable approach to the study of neutrophils and provides a resource that will inform future studies of cell migration in these and other rapidly migrating cells.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2022

Confined keratocytes mimic in vivo migration and reveal volume-speed relationship

Fish basal epidermal cells, known as keratocytes, are well-suited for cell migration studies. In vitro, isolated keratocytes adopt a stereotyped shape with a large fan-shaped lamellipodium and a nearly spherical cell body. However, in their native in vivo environment, these cells adopt a significantly different shape during their rapid migration towards wounds. Within the epidermis, keratocytes experience 2D confinement between the outer epidermal cell layer and the basement membrane; these two deformable surfaces constrain keratocyte cell bodies to be flatter in vivo than in isolation. In vivo keratocytes also exhibit a relative elongation of the front-to-back axis and substantially more lamellipodial ruffling, as compared to isolated cells. We have explored the effects of 2D confinement, separated from other in vivo environmental cues, by overlaying isolated cells with an agarose hydrogel with occasional spacers, or with a ceiling made of PDMS elastomer. Under these conditions, isolated keratocytes more closely resemble the in vivo migratory shape phenotype, displaying a flatter apical-basal axis and a longer front-to-back axis than unconfined keratocytes. We propose that 2D confinement contributes to multiple dimensions of in vivo keratocyte shape determination. Further analysis demonstrates that confinement causes a synchronous 20% decrease in both cell speed and volume. Interestingly, we were able to replicate the 20% decrease in speed using a sorbitol hypertonic shock to shrink the cell volume, which did not affect other aspects of cell shape. Collectively, our results suggest that environmentally imposed changes in cell volume may influence cell migration speed, potentially by perturbing physical properties of the cytoplasm.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2020

Entropy-driven translocation of disordered proteins through the Gram-positive bacterial cell wall

Cells across all kingdoms of life actively partition molecules between discrete cellular compartments. In Gram-positive bacteria, a thick and highly cross-linked peptidoglycan cell wall separates the bacterial membrane from the extracellular space, imposing a barrier that must be crossed by proteins whose functions require that they be exposed on the bacterial cell surface1,2. Some surface-exposed proteins, such as the Listeria monocytogenes actin nucleation-promoting factor ActA3, remain associated with the bacterial membrane yet somehow thread through tens of nanometers of dense, cross-linked cell wall to expose their N-terminus on the outer surface4,5. Here, we show that entropy can drive the translocation of disordered transmembrane proteins through the Gram-positive cell wall. We develop a physical model predicting that the entropic constraint imposed by a thin periplasm is sufficient to drive translocation of an intrinsically disordered protein like ActA across a porous barrier similar to the cell wall. Consistent with this scenario, we demonstrate experimentally that translocation depends on both the dimensions of the cell envelope and the length of the disordered protein, and that translocation is reversible. We also show that disordered regions from eukaryotic nuclear pore complex proteins are capable of entropy-driven translocation through Gram-positive cell walls. These observations suggest that entropic forces alone, rather than chaperones or chemical energy, are sufficient to drive translocation of certain Gram-positive surface proteins for exposure on the outer surface of the cell wall.

biophysics↗

bioRxiv2018

Superresolved and reference-free microparticle traction force microscopy (MP-TFM) reveals the complexity of the mechanical interaction in phagocytosis

Force exertion is an integral part of cellular behavior. Traction force microscopy (TFM) has been instrumental for studying such forces, providing both spatial and directional force measurements at subcellular resolution. However, the applications of classical TFM are restricted by the typical planar geometry. Here, we develop a particle-based force sensing strategy, specifically designed for studying ligand-dependent cellular interactions. We establish an accessible batch approach for synthesizing highly uniform, deformable and tunable hydrogel particles. In addition, they can be easily derivatized to trigger specific cellular behavior. The 3D shape of such particles can be resolved with superresolution (< 50 nm) accuracy using conventional confocal microscopy. We introduce a computational method that allows us to infer surface traction forces with high sensitivity (~ 10 Pa), directly from the particle shape without embedding tracers in the particle. We illustrate the potential and flexibility of this approach by measuring forces throughout phagocytic engulfment. This strategy can readily be adapted for studying cellular forces in a wide range of applications.

biophysics↗