Table 2. Estimate of the variation of mechanical cell parameters between different experimental conditions.
The value of the effective membrane tension σ0 for the control case is obtained from earlier estimates (Doye et al., 2002). The increase in σ0 for siCAV1 and siPTRF cell membranes is deduced from our experimental data using Equation 9. The transendothelial cell macroaperture (TEM) maximum area, Amax, is the median not the average value because the median is a more robust estimator in the presence of a few extremely large values. As discussed in the text, the variations in the bending rigidity are roughly proportional to variations in (N · Amax)–1, where N is the average number of TEMs opening simultaneously and Amax is the TEM maximum area.
| Condition | σ0 (μN/m) | Amax (μm2) | N (average) | (N · Amax)–1 (μm–2) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Control | 25 ± 10 | 8.1 ± 0.5 | 0.90 ± 0.09 | 0.137 ± 0.022 |
| siCAV1 | 50 ± 7 | 23 ± 4 | 1.92 ± 0.15 | 0.023 ± 0.006 |
| siPTRF | 29 ± 7 | 9.3 ± 0.7 | 1.34 ± 0.11 | 0.080 ± 0.012 |