Single cell mechanics: stress stiffening and kinematic hardening.

Cell mechanical properties are fundamental to the organism but remain poorly understood. We report a comprehensive phenomenological framework for the complex rheology of single fibroblast cells: a superposition of elastic stiffening and viscoplastic kinematic hardening. Despite the complexity of the living cell, its mechanical properties can be cast into simple, well-defined rules. Our results reveal the key role of crosslink slippage in determining mechanical cell strength and robustness.