FIG. 5.

Structural properties and calcium signaling of CMTs constructed in 0.5 mg/mL fibrin and 1.0 mg/mL collagen gels and tethered to rigid (k=0.45 μN/μm) cantilevers. (A, B) Immunostaining of troponin-T (red) and nuclei (blue) in a representative CMT at day 3 and (C, D) at day 7. (E) Percentage of aligned nuclei (angle<20°). (F) Time series fluorescence images of a CMT after incubation with calcium indicator fluo-3. (G) Representative simultaneous recording of the fluorescence of the calcium indicator and the tension exerted by a CMT. Data from (E) are the average of 6 CMTs±SEM. Color images available online at www.liebertonline.com/tea