title: Elasticity of human embryonic stem cells as determined by atomic force microscopy.
abstract: The expansive growth and differentiation potential of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) make them a promising source of cells for regenerative medicine. However, this promise is off set by the propensity for spontaneous or uncontrolled differentiation to result in heterogeneous cell populations. Cell elasticity has recently been shown to characterize particular cell phenotypes, with undifferentiated and differentiated cells sometimes showing significant differences in their elasticities. In this study, we determined the Young's modulus of hESCs by atomic force microscopy using a pyramidal tip. Using this method we are able to take point measurements of elasticity at multiple locations on a single cell, allowing local variations due to cell structure to be identified. We found considerable differences in the elasticity of the analyzed hESCs, reflected by a broad range of Young's modulus (0.05-10 kPa). This surprisingly high variation suggests that elasticity could serve as the basis of a simple and efficient large scale purification/separation technique to discriminate subpopulations of hESCs.
authors: Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK.
authors: Robert
authors: R
authors: Kiss
authors: Henry
authors: H
authors: Bock
authors: Steve
authors: S
authors: Pells
authors: Elisabetta
authors: E
authors: Canetta
authors: Ashok K
authors: AK
authors: Adya
authors: Andrew J
authors: AJ
authors: Moore
authors: Paul
authors: P
authors: De Sousa
authors: Nicholas A
authors: NA
authors: Willoughby
mesh_terms: D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D002460:Cell Line; D003094:Collagen; D004338:Drug Combinations; D055119:Elastic Modulus / Q000502:physiology*; D004548:Elasticity / Q000502:physiology; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007797:Laminin; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force / Q000379:methods*; D011509:Proteoglycans
chemical_list: D004338:Drug Combinations; D007797:Laminin; D011509:Proteoglycans; C059485:matrigel; D003094:Collagen