title: Volumetric deformation of live cells induced by pressure-activated cross-membrane ion transport.
abstract: In this work, we developed a method that allows precise control over changes in the size of a cell via hydrostatic pressure changes in the medium. Specifically, we show that a sudden increase, or reduction, in the surrounding pressure, in the physiologically relevant range, triggers cross-membrane fluxes of sodium and potassium ions in leukemia cell lines K562 and HL60, resulting in reversible volumetric deformation with a characteristic time of around 30 min. Interestingly, healthy leukocytes do not respond to pressure shocks, suggesting that the cancer cells may have evolved the ability to adapt to pressure changes in their microenvironment. A model is also proposed to explain the observed cell deformation, which highlights how the apparent viscoelastic response of cells is governed by the microscopic cross-membrane transport.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: T H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Hui
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Z L
authors.initials: ZL
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Engineering Mechanics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: A H W
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Ngan
authors.affiliation: School of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gao
mesh_terms: D005434:Flow Cytometry; D018922:HL-60 Cells; D006801:Humans; D006874:Hydrostatic Pressure; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D020014:K562 Cells; D008954:Models, Biological; D011188:Potassium / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D015221:Potassium Channels / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D012964:Sodium / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D015222:Sodium Channels / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D007473:Ion Channels; D015221:Potassium Channels; D015222:Sodium Channels; D012964:Sodium; D011188:Potassium