BPS2026 – A genuine fluorescent sensor for quantitative imaging of membrane tension from liposomes to live cells

Membrane tension regulates numerous cell dynamical and mechanosensing processes. However, tools that quantitatively report membrane tension in a noninvasive manner are still missing. Here, we report memTS, a red fluorescent dye that directly senses membrane tension in liposomes and in live cells. The fluorescence of memTS linearly increases with membrane tension in micropipette-aspirated giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs). MemTS displays the same sensitivity on pure DOPC GUVs and on GUVs containing cholesterol and sphingomyelin. Importantly, we calibrated memTS response in living cells. We also successfully applied memTS to discover uncharted tension responses in several cellular processes. We expect memTS to be a powerful new tool to study membrane tension in a wide range of living systems.