Shear Assay Protocol for the Determination of Single-Cell Material Properties

Summary

This protocol outlines the quantification of the mechanical properties of cancerous and non-cancerous cell lines in vitro. Conserved differences in the mechanics of cancerous and normal cells can act as a biomarker that may have implications in prognosis and diagnosis.

Abstract

Irregular biomechanics are a hallmark of cancer biology subject to extensive study. The mechanical properties of a cell are similar to those of a material. A cell's resistance to stress and strain, its relaxation time, and its elasticity are all properties that can be derived and compared to other types of cells. Quantifying the mechanical properties of cancerous (malignant) versus normal (non-malignant) cells allows researchers to further uncover the biophysical fundamentals of this disease. While the mechanical properties of cancer cells are known to consistently differ from the mechanical properties of normal cells, a standard experimental procedure to deduce these properties from cells in culture is lacking.

This paper outlines a procedure to quantify the mechanical properties of single cells in vitro using a fluid shear assay. The principle behind this assay involves applying fluid shear stress onto a single cell and optically monitoring the resulting cellular deformation over time. Cell mechanical properties are subsequently characterized using digital image correlation (DIC) analysis and fitting an appropriate viscoelastic model to the experimental data generated from the DIC analysis. Overall, the protocol outlined here aims to provide a more effective and targeted method for the diagnosis of difficult-to-treat cancers.

Introduction

Studying the biophysical differences between cancerous and non-cancerous cells allows for novel diagnostic and therapeutic opportunities¹. Understanding how differences in biomechanics/mechanobiology contribute to tumor progression and treatment resistance will reveal new avenues for targeted therapy and early diagnosis².

While it is known that cancer cell mechanical properties differ from normal cells (e.g., viscoelasticity of the plasma membrane and nuclear envelope)^3,4,5, robust and reproducible me....

Protocol

1. Preparation for the single-cell shear assay

1. Cell culture
   1. Seed approximately 50,000 suspended single cells in a 35 mm x 10 mm Petri dish containing 2 mL of culture media.
      NOTE: Vortex the suspended cells prior to seeding to break apart cell aggregates.
   2. Incubate the cells at 37 °C and allow between 10 to 48 h for cell attachment and complete cytoskeletal protein formation.
      ​NOTE: Consider the duration of cellular attachment, as well as prolif.......

Discussion

The shear assay method, which includes setting up an pseudo-mechanobiological environment to simulate the interaction of cells with the surrounding mechanical microenvironment and their responses to mechanical stresses, has produced a catalog of cellular mechanical properties, whose patterns show conserved physical atypia among cancerous cell lines^3,4,5,7,8. T.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
CELL CULTURE
.25% Trypsin, 2.21 mM EDTA, 1x[-] sodium bicarbonate	Corning	25-053-ci	For cellular detachment from substrate in cell culture
15 mL centrifuge tubes	Falcon by Corning	05-527-90
35 mm Petri dishes	Corning	430165
50 mL centrifuge tubes	Falcon by Corning	14-432-22
centrifuge	any		For sterile cell culture
Dulbecco's Modification of Eagle's Medium (DMEM) 1x	Corning	10-013-cv	Or any other media for culturing cells. DMEM was used for culturing U87 cells
gloves	any		For sterile cell culture
Heracell Vios 160i CO2 Incubator	Thermo Scientific	51033770	For Incubation during cell culture
Hood	any		For sterile cell culture
micropipette	any		For sterile cell culture
micropipette tips	any		For sterile cell culture
Microscope	Leica/any		For sterile cell culture
Phosphate Buffered Saline without calcium and magnesium PBS, 1x	Corning	21-040-CM
pipetman	any		For sterile cell culture
pipette tips	any		For sterile cell culture
Precision GP 10 liquid incubator	Thermo Scientific	TSGP02
T25 flask	Corning	430639
T75 flask	Corning	430641U
SHEAR ASSAY
100 mL beaker	any		For creating DMEM + methyl cellulose viscous shear media
DMEM	Corning
Flow chamber + rubber gasket	Glycotech	31-001	Circular Flow chamber Kit ( for 35 mm tissue culture dishes)
Hybrid Rheometer	HR-2 Discovery Hybrid Rheometer		For determination of shear fluid viscosity
magnetic stir bar	any		For creating DMEM + methyl cellulose viscous shear media
magnetic stir plate	any		For creating DMEM + methyl cellulose viscous shear media
methyl cellulose	any		To increase viscosity of DMEM in flow media
Syringe Pump	KD Scientific Geminin 88 plus	788088	For programming fluid infusion and withdrawal
syringes, tubing, and connectors			For shear apparatus setup
SOFTWARE
ABAQUS software	Simulia
Digitial Image Correlation software	LaVision, Germany	DAVIS 10.1.2
Imaging software	Leica/any microscope software
MATLAB	MATLAB	MATLAB_R2020B