CFM: confinement force microscopy-a dynamic, precise and stable microconfiner for traction force microscopy in spatial confinement.

Confinement force microscopy reveals that cells respond to spatial confinement with a two-phase stress increase involving passive compression and active contractility.

• Why it matters: Understanding how cells adapt mechanically to changing tissue environments is crucial for insights into migration and tissue dynamics, yet current methods lack real-time control and force measurement capabilities.
• What they did: The authors developed a programmable microconfiner platform for live-cell imaging, enabling real-time control of confinement levels and measurement of traction forces during cell migration.
• The result: CFM shows that cells exhibit a rapid passive stress rise followed by an active stress increase, with bleb formation and pressure regulation, and that ROCK and myosin II inhibition differentially affect stress and blebbing.