Figure 3.

Stiffness of airway smooth muscle cells increases proportionally with various metrics of cell contractile stress. The relationship between the stiffness and the net contractile moment is shown. Top inset: relationship between the stiffness and the cytoskeletal prestress. Because the traction must balance the contractile prestress, the prestress is computed from a force balance at a section of the cell perpendicular to its long axis, where the prestress is given as the net force normalized by the cell cross-sectional area. Bottom inset: relationship between stiffness and the maximum contractile force of the CSK. The stiffness is measured by the magnetic twisting cytometry technique (132). Reproduced from reference 202 with permission from Wang.