Thesis defense of Camille DUBOIS

Thesis defense of Camille DUBOIS, PhD student in the Biophotonics group of the Laboratoire Charles Fabry, on 4 December 2024 at 09:30am in the Auditorium of the Institut d'Optique Graduate School in Palaiseau, on the topic: "Optical tweezer and fluorescence FRET microscopy for mechanical studies on living cells".

Abstracts: "Mechanotransduction, the process by which a cell perceives and responds to mechanical stimuli, plays a central role in many biological functions. Focal adhesions, anchor points between the cell's cytoskeleton and the extracellular matrix, are sensitive to the mechanical properties of the substrate and regulate numerous essential cell functions such as cell migration. Dysfunction of these mechanisms for stabilising focal adhesions is implicated in the onset and progression of certain diseases, such as cancer.

      This thesis presents the joint implementation of two microscopy methods for the mechanical study of focal adhesions. On the one hand, molecular force sensors based on fluorescence FRET microscopy can be used to measure intra-cellular forces in the picoNewton range. In particular, a force sensor inserted into vinculin can be used to quantitatively measure the tension exerted on this protein, which is involved in stabilising focal adhesions. An optical tweezer is used to apply a controlled force to a focal adhesion and to measure the force exerted in return by the cell."