ROCK2 generates contractile forces at the front of the cell. (A) Force maps of control and ROCK shRNA CHO.K1 cells plated overnight on fibronectin-coated 5-kPa polyacrylamide gels. (B) Angular force diagrams display the maximum force for each 0.5°, where 0° corresponds to the location of maximum force, or the rear of the cell. The blue line represents the mean value for all cells ± the standard error (magenta lines). (C) Quantification of mean stress (kPa) in ROCK knockdown and control cells. (D) Quantification of the ratio of forces along the front–rear axis to forces along the sides of the cell, where the rear of the cell is defined as 0°, the location of maximum force. (E) Quantification of the ratio of forces at the rear of the cell (0°) to forces at the front of the cell (180°). (F) Quantification of the ratio of forces at the rear of the cell (0°) to forces at the sides of the cell (maximum force of 90° or 270°). n = 28 control cells, 23 ROCK1 shRNA cells, 27 ROCK2 shRNA cells, and 14 ROCK2 shRNA + RLC-AD–GFP cells. Error bars indicate SEM. Ctrl, control.