Biophysical Society Thematic Meeting | Ascona 2026

Mechanobiology of Infection

Poster Abstracts

25-POS Board 25 THE PLASMA MEMBRANE OF MACROPHAGES ON A HOLEY CARBON SUBSTRATE Kem A. Sochacki ; Justin W Taraska National Institutes of Health, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA The mechanobiology of immune cells is inherently linked to the organization of protein complexes associated with the plasma membrane. Here, we use two electron microscopy techniques coupled with fluorescence microscopy to study both the nanoscale and larger scale organization of protein complexes on the plasma membrane of mammalian cells. Cryo-electron tomography (cryoET) allows a nanoscale observation of protein architecture. Platinum replica electron microscopy is well suited for understanding the organization of complexes across the whole membrane. While we have used these techniques extensively in other cell types, we are just beginning to use these tools to understand macrophages. Macrophages react strongly to the surface they are grown on. Their substrate texture can push them toward a proinflammatory state, important for biomaterial used for implantation. The surface of a cryoET grid, on which we grow macrophages, has regularly spaced holey carbon. With this, we observe how plasma membrane associated protein complexes interact with the “porous” substrate.

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