Fig. 2.

In vitro tools used to study stress fiber mechanical properties. Left: In vitro extraction of stress fibers. SMCs expressing GFP-actin before and after stress fiber extraction treatment and detachment from the substrate to obtain isolated stress fibers that can then be used in mechanical tests such as tensile stretching [51]. Right: In vitro actomyosin reconstitution. Schematic illustrating bundle assembly and contraction of in vitro reconstituted actomyosin fibers [60]. Addition of ATP allows for myosin contraction which results in an isometric tension within the reconstituted fibers as illustrated in the images [57].