Finite element method

Cytoskeleton

Hyperelastic material

Cell

Microtubule

Resilience (materials science)

Structural engineering

Biology

Biophysics

Engineering

Vimentin

Composite material

Immunohistochemistry

Materials science

Immunology

Cell biology

Genetics

Intermediate filament

Toughness

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Significance Intermediate filaments (IFs) remain the least understood with respect to their functions in mammalian cells even though they have been related to many devastating human diseases. Here we use optical tweezers to perform micromechanical measurements in living cells and in IF enriched cytoskeletons devoid of actin and microtubules. We identify that cytoskeletal vimentin IFs (VIFs) provide cells with a hyperelastic rubber-like network that regulates the essential mechanical properties of mammalian cells including stretchability, strength, resilience, and toughness. We show that VIFs maintain cell integrity and viability under conditions involving extreme deformations. We further show that the stretchy VIF network can effectively disperse locally induced mechanical stress to larger regions within individual cells, enabling the dissipation of energy throughout a cell.

High stretchability, strength, and toughness of living cells enabled by hyperelastic vimentin intermediate filaments