Abstract

Mechanical constraints significantly influence physiological and pathological processes. Three dimensional cell aggregates are now extensively used as models for tissue engineering, development, or cancerous tumours. We will present experiments involving the aspiration of such aggregates through narrow microfluidic channels. This generates heteregeneous flows and substantial cellular deformations, which can be visualized at cellular scale using two-photon microscopy. This innovative approach enables the measurement of local viscoelastic properties of 3D tissues. We correlate these properties with intracellular and intercellular ingredients such as changes in cell shape, cell rearrangements, and protein expression levels. Finally, these experiments are a useful benchmark to investigate elasto-capillar effects balancing cell deformation with aggregate surface tension.