Figure 1.

(A) A schematic illustration of AFM pulling experiment on VSMC cell: a, AFM cantilever probe with a FN-coated bead at the tip forms focal adhesion on VSMC surface; b, AFM pulling force (800 pN) was applied to FN-focal adhesion by altering the cantilever deflection, and lifted the FN-bead and focal adhesion; c, while AFM pulling force was maintained constant, VSMC developed contraction and pulled the FN-bead and focal adhesion downward. (B) AFM recording of the bead displacement during the pulling experiment shown in (A). D_AFM and Dcell were measured as shown and were used to calculate the cell compensation.