Probing the biomechanics of wound resilience in a giant single cell

Wound healing is an essential biological process for maintaining homeostasis and, ultimately, for survival. We investigate the mechanisms underlying extreme wound healing in Stentor coeruleus, a single-celled organism, capable of recovering from drastic membrane wounds exceeding half of the cell surface. This talk focuses on our recent efforts on developing a microfluidic platform for the manipulation and reproducible wounding of the cell, which enables the investigation of the biomechanics of wound closure, specifically the role of the cytoskeleton. Additionally, the microfluidics platform allows us to explore how the cell resists mechanical wounds. Together, these findings reveal new biophysical mechanisms underlying the cell's wound resilience.