Dataset Information

Deformation of filamentous Escherichia coli cells in a microfluidic device: a new technique to study cell mechanics.

ABSTRACT: The mechanical properties of bacterial cells are determined by their stress-bearing elements. The size of typical bacterial cells, and the fact that different time and length scales govern their behavior, necessitate special experimental techniques in order to probe their mechanical properties under various spatiotemporal conditions. Here, we present such an experimental technique to study cell mechanics using hydrodynamic forces in a microfluidic device. We demonstrate the application of this technique by calculating the flexural rigidity of non-growing Escherichia coli cells. In addition, we compare the deformation of filamentous cells under growing and non-growing conditions during the deformation process. We show that, at low forces, the force needed to deform growing cells to the same extent as non-growing cells is approximately two times smaller. Following previous works, we interpret these results as the outcome of the difference between the elastic response of non-growing cells and the plastic-elastic response of growing cells. Finally, we observe some heterogeneity in the response of individual cells to the applied force. We suggest that this results from the individuality of different bacterial cells.

SUBMITTER: Caspi Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3879274 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Deformation of filamentous Escherichia coli cells in a microfluidic device: a new technique to study cell mechanics.

Caspi Yaron Y

PloS one 20140102 1

The mechanical properties of bacterial cells are determined by their stress-bearing elements. The size of typical bacterial cells, and the fact that different time and length scales govern their behavior, necessitate special experimental techniques in order to probe their mechanical properties under various spatiotemporal conditions. Here, we present such an experimental technique to study cell mechanics using hydrodynamic forces in a microfluidic device. We demonstrate the application of this t ...[more]

PMID: 24392095

Similar Datasets

Project description:The mechanical properties of the cell nucleus are increasingly recognized as critical in many biological processes. The deformability of the nucleus determines the ability of immune and cancer cells to migrate through tissues and across endothelial cell layers, and changes to the mechanical properties of the nucleus can serve as novel biomarkers in processes such as cancer progression and stem cell differentiation. However, current techniques to measure the viscoelastic nuclear mechanical properties are often time consuming, limited to probing one cell at a time, or require expensive, highly specialized equipment. Furthermore, many current assays do not measure time-dependent properties, which are characteristic of viscoelastic materials. Here, we present an easy-to-use microfluidic device that applies the well-established approach of micropipette aspiration, adapted to measure many cells in parallel. The device design allows rapid loading and purging of cells for measurements, and minimizes clogging by large particles or clusters of cells. Combined with a semi-automated image analysis pipeline, the microfluidic device approach enables significantly increased experimental throughput. We validated the experimental platform by comparing computational models of the fluid mechanics in the device with experimental measurements of fluid flow. In addition, we conducted experiments on cells lacking the nuclear envelope protein lamin A/C and wild-type controls, which have well-characterized nuclear mechanical properties. Fitting time-dependent nuclear deformation data to power law and different viscoelastic models revealed that loss of lamin A/C significantly altered the elastic and viscous properties of the nucleus, resulting in substantially increased nuclear deformability. Lastly, to demonstrate the versatility of the devices, we characterized the viscoelastic nuclear mechanical properties in a variety of cell lines and experimental model systems, including human skin fibroblasts from an individual with a mutation in the lamin gene associated with dilated cardiomyopathy, healthy control fibroblasts, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), and human tumor cells. Taken together, these experiments demonstrate the ability of the microfluidic device and automated image analysis platform to provide robust, high throughput measurements of nuclear mechanical properties, including time-dependent elastic and viscous behavior, in a broad range of applications.

Dataset Information

Deformation of filamentous Escherichia coli cells in a microfluidic device: a new technique to study cell mechanics.

Publications

Deformation of filamentous Escherichia coli cells in a microfluidic device: a new technique to study cell mechanics.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets