Current Science

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access

Mechanical Properties and Differentiation Assessments of Neural Stem Cells with Pneumatic Micropipette Aspiration


Affiliations
1 State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Life Science, Qufu Normal University, Qufu 273165, China
2 Tianjin Key Laboratory of Intelligent Robotics, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
3 TEDA Hospital, No. 65 Third Avenue, Economic-Technological Development Area, Tianjin 300457, China
4 State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Life Science, College of Life Sciences, Qufu Normal University, Qufu 273165, China
 

The change in chemical and biological properties of neural stem cells (NSCs) before and after differentiating into neurons and glial cells has been well studied. However, there is lack of knowledge on the relationship between cell differentiation and alteration of cell mechanical features. Mechanical properties can reflect specific changes that occur with biochemical and cytological changes. Here, we present a robotic micromanipulation system for measuring the mechanical properties of single cells. This system consists of a suction micropipette, a robotic micromanipulator and an inverted microscope. A pneumatic micropipette aspiration method is utilized to measure the elastic properties of the cells. We found that the mechanical properties of NSCs belong to the solid state, however, neurons and glial cells are close to the liquid state. Further, NSCs are harder than neurons and glial cells.

Keywords

Mechanical Properties, Robotic Micromanipulation System, Differentiation Assessment, Neural Stem Cells.
User
Notifications
Font Size

  • Gage, F. H., Mammalian neural stem cells. Science, 2000, 287, 1433–1438.

  • Ming, G.-L. and Song, H., Adult neurogenesis in the mammalian brain: significant answers and significant questions. Neuron, 2011, 70, 687–702.

  • Sloan, S. A. and Barres, B. A., Mechanisms of astrocyte development and their contributions to neurodevelopmental disorders. Curr. Opin. Neurobiol., 2014, 27, 75–81.

  • Chu, T., Zhou, H., Li, F., Wang, T., Lu, L. and Feng, S., Astrocyte transplantation for spinal cord injury: current status and perspective. Brain Res. Bull., 2014, 107, 18–30.

  • Ponemone, V., Choudhury, K., Harris, K. L. and Dewan, Y., Stem cell treatment for the spinal cord injury – a concise review. Indian J. Neurotrauma, 2014, 11, 30–38.

  • Freed, J. W. et al., Human embryonic stem cells, dopaminergic neurons, and pathways for developing a Parkinson’s disease therapy. In Cellular Transplantation (eds Halberstadt, C. and Emerich, D.), Academic Press, Burlington, 2007, pp. 523-IX.

  • Foster, H. D. and Hoffer, A., Hyperoxidation of the two catecholamines, dopamine and adrenaline: Implications for the etiologies and treatment of encephalitis lethargica, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and schizophrenia. In Oxidative Stress and Neurodegenerative Disorders (eds Qureshi, G. A. and Parvez, S. H.), Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, pp. 369–382.

  • Vazin, T. et al., Efficient derivation of cortical glutamatergic neurons from human pluripotent stem cells: a model system to study neurotoxicity in Alzheimer’s disease. Neurobiol. Dis., 2014, 62, 62–72.

  • Forlenza, O. V., De-Paula, V. J. R. and Diniz, B. S. O., Neuroprotective effects of lithium: implications for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and related neurodegenerative disorders. ACS Chem. Neurosci., 2014, 5, 443–450.

  • Chen, Y., Aardema, J. and Corey, S. J., Biochemical and functional significance of f-bar domain proteins interaction with WASP/N-WASP. Semin. Cell Dev. Biol., 2013, 24, 280–286.

  • Munoz, F., Reales, J.M., Sebastian, M. A. and Ballesteros, S., An electrophysiological study of haptic roughness: effects of levels of texture and stimulus uncertainty in the p300. Brain Res., 2014, 1562, 59–68.

  • Darling, E. M., Topel, M., Zauscher, S., Vail, T. P. and Guilak, F., Viscoelastic properties of human mesenchymally-derived stem cells and primary osteoblasts, chondrocytes, and adipocytes. J. Biomech., 2008, 41, 454–464.

  • Fletcher, D. A. and Mullins, R. D., Cell mechanics and the cytoskeleton. Nature, 2010, 463, 485–492.

  • Lu, Y.-B. et al., Viscoelastic properties of individual glial cells and neurons in the CNS. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 2006, 103, 17759–17764.

  • Dingal, P. C. D. P. and Discher, D. E., Material control of stem cell differentiation: challenges in nano-characterization. Curr. Opin. Biotech., 2014, 28, 46–50.

  • Heisenberg, C.-P. and Bellaïche, Y., Forces in tissue morphogenesis and patterning. Cell, 2013, 153, 948–962.

  • Suki, B. et al., Mechanical failure, stress redistribution, elastase activity and binding site availability on elastin during the progression of emphysema. Pulm. Pharmacol. Ther., 2012, 25, 268–275.

  • Gonzalez-Cruz, R. D., Fonseca, V. C. and Darling, E. M., Cellular mechanical properties reflect the differentiation potential of adiposederived mesenchymal stem cells. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 2012, 109, E1523–E1529.

  • Sato, M., Nagayama, K., Kataoka, N., Sasaki, M. and Hane, K., Local mechanical properties measured by atomic force microscopy for cultured bovine endothelial cells exposed to shear stress. J. Biomech., 2000, 33, 127–135.

  • Wu, H. W., Kuhn, T. and Moy, V. T., Mechanical properties of l929 cells measured by atomic force microscopy: effects of anticytoskeletal drugs and membrane crosslinking. Scanning, 1998, 20, 389–397.

  • Dai, J. and Sheetz, M. P., Mechanical properties of neuronal growth cone membranes studied by tether formation with laser optical tweezers. Biophys. J., 1995, 68, 988–996.

  • Laurent, V. M., Hénon, S., Planus, E., Fodil, R., Balland, M., Isabey, D. and Gallet, F., Assessment of mechanical properties of adherent living cells by bead micromanipulation: comparison of magnetic twisting cytometry vs optical tweezers. J. Biomech. Eng., 2002, 124, 408–421.

  • Sun, Y. and Nelson, B. J., MEMS capacitive force sensors for cellular and flight biomechanics. Biomed. Mater., 2007, 2, S16–S22.

  • Yang, S. and Saif, M. T. A., MEMS based force sensors for the study of indentation response of single living cells. Sensors Actuat. A, 2007, 135, 16–22.

  • Hochmuth, R. M., Micropipette aspiration of living cells. J. Biomech., 2000, 33, 15–22.

  • Haider, M. A. and Guilak, F., An axisymmetric boundary integral model for assessing elastic cell properties in the micropipette aspiration contact problem. J. Biomech. Eng., 2002, 124, 586–595.

  • Palmer, T. D., Takahashi, J. and Gage, F. H., The adult rat hippocampus contains primordial neural stem cells. Mol. Cell Neurosci., 1997, 8, 389–404.

  • Hsieh, J., Aimone, J. B., Kaspar, B. K., Kuwabara, T., Nakashima, K. and Gage, F. H., IGF-I instructs multipotent adult neural progenitor cells to become oligodendrocytes. J. Cell Biol., 2004, 164, 111–122.

  • Zhao, Q. et al., A novel pneumatic micropipette aspiration method using a balance pressure model. Rev. Sci. Instrum., 2013, 84, 123703.

  • Kaech, S. and Banker, G., Culturing hippocampal neurons. Nature Protoc., 2006, 1, 2406–2415.

  • Zhao, Q., Sun, M., Cui, M., Yu, J., Qin, Y. and Zhao, X., Robotic cell rotation based on the minimum rotation force. IEEE Trans. Automat. Sci. Eng., 2015, 12, 1504–1515.

  • Zhao, Q., Shirinzadeh, B., Cui, M., Sun, M., Liu, Y. and Zhao, X., A novel cell weighing method based on the minimum immobilization pressure for biological applications. J. Appl. Phys., 2015, 118, 044301.

  • Pajerowski, J. D., Dahl, K. N., Zhong, F. L., Sammak, P. J. and Discher, D. E., Physical plasticity of the nucleus in stem cell differentiation. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 2007, 104, 15619–15624.

  • Duncan, E. M., Muratore-Schroeder, T. L., Cook, R. G., Garcia, B. A., Shabanowitz, J., Hunt, D. F. and Allis, C. D., Cathepsin l proteolytically processes histone H3 during mouse embryonic stem cell differentiation. Cell, 2008, 135, 284–294.

  • Darling, E. M. and Di Carlo, D., High-throughput assessment of cellular mechanical properties. Annu. Rev. Biomed. Eng., 2015, 17, 35–62.


Abstract Views: 353

PDF Views: 130




  • Mechanical Properties and Differentiation Assessments of Neural Stem Cells with Pneumatic Micropipette Aspiration

Abstract Views: 353  |  PDF Views: 130

Authors

Ming Wu
State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Life Science, Qufu Normal University, Qufu 273165, China
Qili Zhao
Tianjin Key Laboratory of Intelligent Robotics, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
Cui Yang
TEDA Hospital, No. 65 Third Avenue, Economic-Technological Development Area, Tianjin 300457, China
Wen Shen
TEDA Hospital, No. 65 Third Avenue, Economic-Technological Development Area, Tianjin 300457, China
Xin Zhao
Tianjin Key Laboratory of Intelligent Robotics, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
Yun Lu
TEDA Hospital, No. 65 Third Avenue, Economic-Technological Development Area, Tianjin 300457, China
Xi Zeng Feng
State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Life Science, College of Life Sciences, Qufu Normal University, Qufu 273165, China

Abstract


The change in chemical and biological properties of neural stem cells (NSCs) before and after differentiating into neurons and glial cells has been well studied. However, there is lack of knowledge on the relationship between cell differentiation and alteration of cell mechanical features. Mechanical properties can reflect specific changes that occur with biochemical and cytological changes. Here, we present a robotic micromanipulation system for measuring the mechanical properties of single cells. This system consists of a suction micropipette, a robotic micromanipulator and an inverted microscope. A pneumatic micropipette aspiration method is utilized to measure the elastic properties of the cells. We found that the mechanical properties of NSCs belong to the solid state, however, neurons and glial cells are close to the liquid state. Further, NSCs are harder than neurons and glial cells.

Keywords


Mechanical Properties, Robotic Micromanipulation System, Differentiation Assessment, Neural Stem Cells.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv114%2Fi09%2F1961-1966