Non-muscle myosin II (NMII) generates contractile forces, and Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based tension sensors can measure forces in cells. Hart et al. have developed a FRET-based mechanical biosensor based on NMII that is suitable for live-cell imaging.

The authors adapted a tension sensor module whose FRET efficiency decreases after physical extension resulting from exposure to mechanical stretching, and engineered it into NMII. Testing it in multiple cell types, authors used fluorescence recovery after photobleaching to find similar turnover rates for their tension sensor NMII construct and fluorescently tagged NMII. They found that the tension sensor incorporated into endogenous NMII filaments, and that the FRET efficiency of their construct was sensitive to pharmacological myosin perturbations.

非肌肉肌球蛋白 II （NMII） 产生收缩力，基于 Förster 共振能量转移 （FRET） 的张力传感器可以测量细胞中的力。Hart 等人开发了一种基于 NMII 的基于 FRET 的机械生物传感器，适用于活细胞成像。

作者改编了一个张力传感器模块，该模块在因暴露于机械拉伸而导致物理延伸后 FRET 效率降低，并将其设计成 NMII。在多种细胞类型中对其进行测试，作者使用光漂白后的荧光恢复来发现他们的张力传感器 NMII 构建体和荧光标记的 NMII 的周转率相似。他们发现张力传感器掺入内源性 NMII 细丝中，并且其构建体的 FRET 效率对药理学肌球蛋白扰动敏感。