Nanomorphological and mechanical reconstruction of mesenchymal stem cells during early apoptosis detected by atomic force microscopy

Abstract

statementCellular mechanical damage is connected with the apoptosis of BMSCs, and the alterations in mechanics and nanomorphology may be a sensitive index to detect alterations in cell viability during apoptosis. AbstractStem cell apoptosis exists widely in embryonic development, tissue regeneration, repair, aging and pathophysiology of disease. The molecular mechanism of stem cell apoptosis has been extensively investigated. However, alterations in biomechanics and nanomorphology have rarely been studied.Therefore, an apoptosis model was established for bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) and the reconstruction of the mechanical properties and nanomorphology of the cells were investigated in detail. Atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM), flow cytometry and Cell Counting Kit-8 analysis were applied to assess the cellular elasticity modulus, geometry, nanomorphology, cell surface ultrastructure, biological viability and early apoptotic signal (phosphatidylserine, PS). The results indicated that the cellular elastic modulus and volume significantly decreased, whereas the cell surface roughness obviously increased during the first 3 h of cytochalasin B (CB) treatment.Moreover, these alterations preceded the exposure of biological apoptotic signal PS. These findings suggested that cellular mechanical damage is connected with the apoptosis of BMSCs, and the alterations in mechanics and nanomorphology may be a sensitive index to detect alterations in cell viability during apoptosis. The results contribute to a further understanding of the apoptosis from the perspective of cell mechanics. Biology Open • Accepted manuscript

Coarse-grained elastic network modelling: A fast and stable numerical tool to characterize mesenchymal stem cells subjected to AFM nanoindentation measurements

“…2), with an overall size of 50 µm for diameter and 13 µm for height (Fig. 2c), which is consistent with the typical size of mesenchymal stem cells [43]. In order to reduce the computational effort and increase the resolution at the same time, only a quarter of the whole cell was modelled.…”

Cytochalasin B Modulates Nanomechanical Patterning and Fate in Human Adipose-Derived Stem Cells

“…At the same time, even at the highest concentrations of CB, the viability of the hASCs was not particularly affected, and after CB's removal from the culture medium, the cells showed a proliferative rate similar to control cells. Some studies demonstrated that CD or CB did not compromise cell proliferation or viability [40,80], but on the contrary, other research reported decreases in both parameters dose-and treatment time-dependently [81][82][83]. In particular, Kocsis and colleagues (2021) showed a great difference in cell viability between MSCs treated with CB for 3 or 24 h, with low (1-8 µM) or high concentrations of this chemical (until 128 µM) [82].…”

Nanoindentation of mesenchymal stem cells using atomic force microscopy: effect of adhesive cell-substrate structures

“…Utilizing the CAD tools available in ABAQUS 6.12 ® , the finite element model simulating the nanoindentation process of stem cells was built. The dimensions hypothesized for the model (Figure 1) are the average dimensions typically measured for cells of mesenchymal origin [42]. The subcellular components included in the model were: the nucleus (highlighted in red, Figure 1), the cytoskeleton (highlighted in yellow, Figure 1), and the cell cortex (highlighted in blue, Figure 1).…”