Mechanical responsiveness of the endothelial cell of Schlemm's canal: scope, variability and its potential role in controlling aqueous humour outflow by E. H. Zhou, R. Krishnan, W. D. Stamer, K. M. Perkumas, K. Rajendran, J. F. Nabhan, Q. Lu, J. J. Fredberg, and M. Johnson Interface Volume 9(71): June 7, 2012 ©2012 by The Royal Society

SC cells exhibit power-law rheology and exert traction forces on a deformable substrate. E. H. Zhou et al. J. R. Soc. Interface 2012;9: ©2012 by The Royal Society

SC cells exhibit stable mechanical phenotype up to passage 3. E. H. Zhou et al. J. R. Soc. Interface 2012;9: ©2012 by The Royal Society

SC cells stiffen in response to (a) S1P, (b) LPA, (c) thrombin, and (d) soften in response to latrunculin A. At concentrations of 0.1 µM for latrunculin A, LPA and S1P, and 0.1 µ-NIH unit ml−1 for thrombin, the treatments were applied at 50 s, indicated by... E. H. Zhou et al. J. R. Soc. Interface 2012;9: ©2012 by The Royal Society

Most but not all SC cells relaxed dose-dependently in response to (a) Y-27632, (b) DBcAMP, and (c) isoproterenol. E. H. Zhou et al. J. R. Soc. Interface 2012;9: ©2012 by The Royal Society

SC cells from different donors express variable levels of β2AR protein and the β2AR levels correlate with relaxation response to isoproterenol. E. H. Zhou et al. J. R. Soc. Interface 2012;9: ©2012 by The Royal Society

Isoproterenol decreases the traction forces of SC cells from most but not all donors, consistent with its donor-dependent effects on cell stiffness. E. H. Zhou et al. J. R. Soc. Interface 2012;9: ©2012 by The Royal Society

The contractile scope of the SC cell is substantially variable across donors and generally quite large. E. H. Zhou et al. J. R. Soc. Interface 2012;9: ©2012 by The Royal Society