摘要：SummaryMonocytes continuously adapt their shapes for proper circulation and elicitation of effective immune responses. Although these functions depend on the cell mechanical properties, the mechanical behavior of monocytes is still poorly understood and accurate physiologically relevant data on basic mechanical properties are lacking almost entirely. By combining several complementary single-cell force spectroscopy techniques, we report that the mechanical properties of human monocyte are strain-rate dependent, and that chemokines can induce alterations in viscoelastic behavior. In addition, our findings indicate that human monocytes are heterogeneous mechanically and this heterogeneity is regulated by chemokine CCL2. The technology presented here can be readily used to reveal mechanical complexity of the blood cell population in disease conditions, where viscoelastic properties may serve as physical biomarkers for disease progression and response to therapy.Graphical abstractDisplay OmittedHighlights•Mechanical properties of monocytes are affected by temperature changes•Mechanical properties of monocytes are strain-rate dependent•CCL2 affects both the viscous and elastic properties of monocytes•CCL2 potentially modulates monocytes mechanically to transit to a primed stateImmunology; Cell biology; Biomechanics
