A Reversible shearing DNA-based tension probe for cellular force measurement

Abstract Cells can sense and respond to molecular forces ranging from a few pN to tens of pN through mechanosensitive receptors with an astounding diversity of mechanisms. DNA-based molecular tension sensors have been instrumental in studying the importance of mechanical forces in many biological systems. However, the respective shortcomings of these sensors, for instance, the irreversible rupture of tension gauge tether (TGT) under force and relatively limited dynamic range of the hairpin probes, limited our understanding of the molecular details of mechano-chemo-transduction in living cells. Here, we developed a reversible shearing DNA-based tension probe (RSDTP) for probing molecular pN-scale forces between 4-60 pN transmitted by cells. Using RSDTPs to study integrin-mediated mechanotransduction, we could real-time distinguish the differences of force-bearing integrins without perturbing adhesion biology in living cells.