title: Length of intact plasma membrane determines the diffusion properties of cellular water.
abstract: Molecular diffusion in a boundary-free medium depends only on the molecular size, the temperature, and medium viscosity. However, the critical determinant of the molecular diffusion property in inhomogeneous biological tissues has not been identified. Here, using an in vitro system and a high-resolution MR imaging technique, we show that the length of the intact plasma membrane is a major determinant of water diffusion in a controlled cellular environment and that the cell perimeter length (CPL) is sufficient to estimate the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of water in any cellular environment in our experimental system (ADC = -0.21 × CPL + 1.10). We used this finding to further explain the different diffusion kinetics of cells that are dying via apoptotic or non-apoptotic cell death pathways exhibiting characteristic changes in size, nuclear and cytoplasmic architectures, and membrane integrity. These results suggest that the ADC value can be used as a potential biomarker for cell death.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology and Cancer Biology, Nagasaki University School of Dentistry, 1-7-1 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8588, Japan.
authors.forename: Sato
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Eida
authors.affiliation: Philips Healthcare, 2-13-37 Kohnan, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8507, Japan.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Van Cauteren
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology and Cancer Biology, Nagasaki University School of Dentistry, 1-7-1 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8588, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hotokezaka
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology and Cancer Biology, Nagasaki University School of Dentistry, 1-7-1 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8588, Japan.
authors.forename: Ikuo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Katayama
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology and Cancer Biology, Nagasaki University School of Dentistry, 1-7-1 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8588, Japan.
authors.forename: Miho
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.affiliation: Philips Healthcare, 2-13-37 Kohnan, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8507, Japan.
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Obara
authors.affiliation: Philips Healthcare, 2-13-37 Kohnan, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8507, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomoyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okuaki
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology and Cancer Biology, Nagasaki University School of Dentistry, 1-7-1 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8588, Japan.
authors.forename: Misa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sumi
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology and Cancer Biology, Nagasaki University School of Dentistry, 1-7-1 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8588, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakamura
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019556:COS Cells; D016923:Cell Death; D002460:Cell Line; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D004058:Diffusion; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D018922:HL-60 Cells; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D013696:Temperature; D014783:Viscosity; D014867:Water / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D014867:Water