Name: measuring the bending stiffness of bacterial cells using an optical trap
Uploaded: 2010-04-26T17:10:00
Duration: 5 min 45 s
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Measuring the Bending Stiffness of Bacterial Cells Using an Optical Trap at JoVE.com

We acknowledge helpful advice from Mingzhai Sun on binding cells to surfaces. We thank Ned Wingreen and Zemer Gitai for valuable discussions. This research was supported by National Institutes of Health grant P50GM07150, National Science Foundation CAREER award PHY-0844466 and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

<ol>
	<li>Grow E. coli cells in Luria-Beltrani broth (LB) medium to exponential phase (OD = 0.2-0.4).</li>
	<li>Grow the culture in LB supplemented with 50 &mu;g/mL of cephalexin for 15 min to induce filamentous growth, and then concentrate the culture by 5 times thru centrifugation.</li>
	<li>Make PEI-coated coverslip by flowing 1% polyethylenimine diluted in water into a flow chamber, and wash with water after a 5-minute incubation.</li>
	<li>Flow the concentrated cell culture into the chamber, and washed with a mixture of LB and cephalexin(50&mu;g/mL) after 3 min to remove unattached cells.</li>
	<li>Incubate the chamber at 37&deg;C for 30 min-1 hour to let the attached cells grow before placement on the optical trapping instrument.</li>
	<li>Make polylysine-coated beads by incubating 0.5-&mu;m-diameter polystyrene beads (Bangs Labs) in 0.1% polylysine diluted in water for 30 min. Then wash the beads 3 times and resuspend in water. </li>
	<li>Dilute the bead solution by a factor of two into LB with cephalexin (50&mu;g/mL), and add it into the flow chamber. </li>
	<li>Optically trap a floating bead and touch it to the free tip of a cell. (We use a Mad City Labs piezo stage to control of the motion of the sample.) When a suitable bead/cell combination is found, wash the chamber with cephalexin in LB (50&mu;g/mL) to remove unattached beads.</li>
	<li>Run custom-written LabView program to apply bending forces to cell and record force-displacement data.
Program Details
<ol class="lalpha">
 <li>Calibrate detector response by raster scanning the attached bead within the detection laser beam and recording 3D PSD voltage signals.</li>
 <li>Identify cell long axis in microscope image.</li>
 <li>Move cell in steps in a direction perpendicular to the cell long axis.</li>
 <li>Record the distance moved and the displacement from the optical trap.</li>
 <li>Convert displacement to applied force using the previously measured trap stiffness and save tip displacement and force to file.</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ol>
Secrets to Success: In Step 8), one needs to find a cell with a well-defined stuck end. Some cells are just stuck at one tip, and the bending force at the other tip leads to a whole-cell pivoting rather than bending. A suitable pair is found by bending each cell quickly by hand using the joystick-controlled stage motion. 
Representative Results:
<img src="/files/ftp_upload/2012/2012fig1.jpg" alt="Figure 1" /> Figure 1. This figure shows force-displacement data for a single cell. The slope of this line is the bending stiffness of the cell.

<ol>
	<li>Janmey, P. A., McCulloch, C. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Cell+mechanics:+integrating+cell+responses+to+mechanical+stimuli.">Cell mechanics: integrating cell responses to mechanical stimuli.</a> Annu Rev Biomed Eng. 9, 1-34 (2007).</li><li>Morris, D. M., Jensen, G. J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Toward+a+biomechanical+understanding+of+whole+bacterial+cells.">Toward a biomechanical understanding of whole bacterial cells.</a> Annu Rev Biochem. 77, 583-613 (2008).</li></ol>

The video production of this article was sponsored by Mad City Labs, which produces instruments used in these studies.

The protocol presented here is designed to quantitatively measure the bending properties of bacterial cells. The experiment setup can be applied to any rod-shaped cell that can be made to grow filamentously. We have successfully used this setup to probe the effects of cytoskeletal filaments on the bending stiffness of E. coli cells. This same technique can be used to evaluate the roles of pressure, cell wall stiffness and other intracellular components in determining overall bending stiffness of cells.

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		<tr>
		<th>Material Name</th>
		<th>Type</th>
		<th>Company</th>
		<th>Catalogue Number</th>
		<th>Comment</th>
		</tr>
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		<tbody>
		
<tr>
<td>cephalexin</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Sigma</td>
<td>C4895-5G</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>polyethylenimine</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Sigma</td>
<td>181978-5G</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>polylysine</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Sigma</td>
<td>P8920</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>0.5-&mu;m-diameter polystyrene beads</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Bangs Laboratory</td>
<td>PS03N</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>Nano-LP Series nanopositioning system</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Mad City Labs</td>
<td>NanoLP series</td>
<td><a href="http://www.madcitylabs.com/nanolpseries.html">http://www.madcitylabs.com/nanolpseries.html</a></td>
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measuring the bending stiffness of bacterial cells using an optical trap

We developed a protocol to measure the bending rigidity of filamentous rod-shaped bacteria. Forces are applied with an optical trap, a microscopic three-dimensional spring made of light that is formed when a high-intensity laser beam is focused to a very small spot by a microscope's objective lens. To bend a cell, we first bind live bacteria to a chemically-treated coverslip. As these cells grow, the middle of the cells remains bound to the coverslip but the growing ends are free of this restraint. By inducing filamentous growth with the drug cephalexin, we are able to identify cells in which one end of the cell was stuck to the surface while the other end remained unattached and susceptible to bending forces. A bending force is then applied with an optical trap by binding a polylysine-coated bead to the tip of a growing cell. Both the force and the displacement of the bead are recorded and the bending stiffness of the cell is the slope of this relationship.

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Measuring the Bending Stiffness of Bacterial Cells Using an Optical Trap at JoVE.com

Measuring the Bending Stiffness of Bacterial Cells Using an Optical Trap

We present a protocol for bending filamentous bacterial cells attached to a cover-slip surface with an optical trap to measure the cellular bending stiffness.

We developed a protocol to measure the bending rigidity of filamentous rod-shaped bacteria. Forces are applied with an optical trap, a microscopic ...

measuring-bending-stiffness-bacterial-cells-using-an-optical

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Biology

Proper Care and Cleaning of the Microscope

Keeping the microscope optics clean is important for high-quality imaging. Dust, fingerprints, excess immersion oil, or mounting medium on or in a microscope causes reduction in contrast and resolution. DIC is especially sensitive to contamination and scratches on the lens surfaces. This protocol details the procedure for keeping the microscope clean.

Keeping the microscope optics clean is important for high-quality imaging. Dust, fingerprints, excess immersion oil, or mounting medium on or in a microscope causes reduction in contrast and resolution. DIC is especially sensitive to contamination and scratches on the lens surfaces. This protocol details the procedure for keeping the microscope clean.

Keeping the microscope optics clean is important for high-quality imaging. Dust, fingerprints, excess immersion oil, or mounting medium on or in a ...

Major Components of the Light Microscope

The light microscope is a basic tool for the cell biologist, who should have a thorough understanding of how it works, how it should be aligned for different applications, and how it should be maintained as required to obtain maximum image-forming capacity and resolution. The components of the microscope are described in detail here.

The light microscope is a basic tool for the cell biologist, who should have a thorough understanding of how it works, how it should be aligned for different applications, and how it should be maintained as required to obtain maximum image-forming capacity and resolution. The components of the microscope are described in detail here.

The light microscope is a basic tool for the cell biologist, who should have a thorough understanding of how it works, how it should be aligned for ...

Electron Cryotomography of Bacterial Cells

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Electron cryotomography (ECT) is an emerging technology that does just this, allowing the ultrastructure of cells to be visualized in a near-native state, in three dimensions (3D), with "macromolecular" resolution (~4nm).1, 2 In ECT, cells are imaged in a vitreous, "frozen-hydrated" state in a cryo transmission electron microscope (cryoTEM) at low temperature (&lt; -180&deg;C). For slender cells (up to ~500 nm in thickness3), intact cells are plunge-frozen within media across EM grids in cryogens such as ethane or ethane/propane mixtures. Thicker cells and biofilms can also be imaged in a vitreous state by first "high-pressure freezing" and then, "cryo-sectioning" them. A series of two-dimensional projection images are then collected through the sample as it is incrementally tilted along one or two axes. A three-dimensional reconstruction, or "tomogram" can then be calculated from the images. While ECT requires expensive instrumentation, in recent years, it has been used in a few labs to reveal the structures of various external appendages, the structures of different cell envelopes, the positions and structures of cytoskeletal filaments, and the locations and architectures of large macromolecular assemblies such as flagellar motors, internal compartments and chemoreceptor arrays.1, 2
In this video article we illustrate how to image cells with ECT, including the processes of sample preparation, data collection, tomogram reconstruction, and interpretation of the results through segmentation and in some cases correlation with light microscopy.

We illustrate here how to use electron cryotomography (ECT) to study the ultrastructure of bacterial cells in near-native states, to "macromolecular" (~4 nm) resolution.

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Studying the Effects of Matrix Stiffness on Cellular Function using Acrylamide-based Hydrogels

Tissue stiffness is an important determinant of cellular function, and changes in tissue stiffness are commonly associated with fibrosis, cancer and cardiovascular disease1-11. Traditional cell biological approaches to studying cellular function involve culturing cells on a rigid substratum (plastic dishes or glass coverslips) which cannot account for the effect of an elastic ECM or the variations in ECM stiffness between tissues. To model in vivo tissue compliance conditions in vitro, we and others use ECM-coated hydrogels. In our laboratory, the hydrogels are based on polyacrylamide which can mimic the range of tissue compliances seen biologically12. "Reactive" cover slips are generated by incubation with NaOH followed by addition of 3-APTMS. Glutaraldehyde is used to cross-link the 3-APTMS and the polyacrylamide gel. A solution of acrylamide (AC), bis-acrylamide (Bis-AC) and ammonium persulfate is used for the polymerization of the hydrogel. N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) is incorporated into the AC solution to crosslink ECM protein to the hydrogel. Following polymerization of the hydrogel, the gel surface is coated with an ECM protein of choice such as fibronectin, vitronectin, collagen, etc.
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An Assay for Measuring the Activity of Escherichia coli Inducible Lysine Decarboxyase

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An Assay for Measuring the Activity of Escherichia coli Inducible Lysine Decarboxyase

The activity of the inducible lysine decarboxylase is monitored by reacting the substrate L-lysine and the product cadaverine with 2,4,6-trinitrobenzensulfonic acid to form adducts that have differential solubility in toluene.

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RNA polymerase II transcriptional kinetics are measured on specific genes in living cells. mRNAs transcribed from the gene of interest are fluorescently tagged and using Fluorescence Recovery After Photobleaching (FRAP) the in vivo kinetics of transcriptional elongation are obtained.

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Measuring the Effects of Bacteria on C. Elegans Behavior Using an Egg Retention Assay

C. elegans egg-laying behavior is affected by environmental cues such as osmolarity1 and vibration2. In the total absence of food C. elegans also cease egg-laying and retain fertilized eggs in their uterus3. However, the effect of different sources of food, especially pathogenic bacteria and particularly Enterococcus faecalis, on egg-laying
	behavior is not well characterized. The egg-in-worm (EIW) assay is a useful tool to quantify the effects of different types of bacteria, in this case E. faecalis, on egg- laying behavior.
	
	EIW assays involve counting the number of eggs retained in the uterus of C. elegans4. The EIW assay involves bleaching staged, gravid adult C. elegans to remove the cuticle and separate the retained eggs from the animal. Prior to bleaching, worms are exposed to bacteria (or any type of environmental cue) for a fixed period of time. After bleaching, one is very easily able to count the number of eggs retained inside the uterus of the worms. In this assay, a quantifiable increase in egg retention after E. faecalis exposure can be easily measured. The EIW assay is a behavioral assay that may be used to screen for potentially pathogenic bacteria or the presence of environmental toxins. In addition, the EIW assay may be a tool to screen for drugs that affect neurotransmitter signaling since egg-laying behavior is modulated by neurotransmitters such as serotonin and acetylcholine5-9.

Measuring the Effects of Bacteria on C. Elegans Behavior Using an Egg Retention Assay

An egg-in-worm (EIW) assay is a useful method to quantify egg-laying behavior. Alterations in egg laying can be a behavioral response of the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans to potentially harmful environmental substances such as those produced by pathogenic bacteria.

C. elegans egg-laying behavior is  affected by environmental cues such as osmolarity1 and  vibration2. In the total absence of food C. elegans also cease ...

Measuring the Osmotic Water Permeability Coefficient (Pf) of Spherical Cells: Isolated Plant Protoplasts as an Example

Studying AQP regulation mechanisms is crucial for the understanding of water relations at both the cellular and the whole plant levels. Presented here is a simple and very efficient method for the determination of the osmotic water permeability coefficient (Pf) in plant protoplasts, applicable in principle also to other spherical cells such as frog oocytes. The first step of the assay is the isolation of protoplasts from the plant tissue of interest by enzymatic digestion into a chamber with an appropriate isotonic solution. The second step consists of an osmotic challenge assay: protoplasts immobilized on the bottom of the chamber are submitted to a constant perfusion starting with an isotonic solution and followed by a hypotonic solution. The cell swelling is video recorded. In the third step, the images are processed offline to yield volume changes, and the time course of the volume changes is correlated with the time course of the change in osmolarity of the chamber perfusion medium, using a curve fitting procedure written in Matlab (the &#8216;PfFit&#8217;), to yield Pf.

Measuring the Osmotic Water Permeability Coefficient Pf of Spherical Cells: Isolated Plant Protoplasts as an Example

Measuring the osmotic water permeability coefficient (Pf) of cells can help understand the regulatory mechanisms of aquaporins (AQPs). Pf determination in spherical plant cell protoplasts presented here involves protoplasts isolation and numerical analysis of their initial rate of volume change as a result of an osmotic challenge during constant bath perfusion.

Studying AQP regulation mechanisms is crucial for the understanding of water relations at both the cellular and the whole plant levels. Presented here is ...

Sequential Application of Glass Coverslips to Assess the Compressive Stiffness of the Mouse Lens: Strain and Morphometric Analyses

The eye lens is a transparent organ that refracts and focuses light to form a clear image on the retina. In humans, ciliary muscles contract to deform the lens, leading to an increase in the lens&#39; optical power to focus on nearby objects, a process known as accommodation. Age-related changes in lens stiffness have been linked to presbyopia, a reduction in the lens&#39; ability to accommodate, and, by extension, the need for reading glasses. Even though mouse lenses do not accommodate or develop presbyopia, mouse models can provide an invaluable genetic tool for understanding lens pathologies, and the accelerated aging observed in mice enables the study of age-related changes in the lens. This protocol demonstrates a simple, precise, and cost-effective method for determining mouse lens stiffness, using glass coverslips to apply sequentially increasing compressive loads onto the lens. Representative data confirm that mouse lenses become stiffer with age, like human lenses. This method is highly reproducible and can potentially be scaled up to mechanically test lenses from larger animals.

Age-related increases in eye lens stiffness are linked to presbyopia. This protocol describes a simple, cost-effective method for measuring mouse lens stiffness. Mouse lenses, like human lenses, become stiffer with age. This method is precise and can be adapted for lenses from larger animals.

The eye lens is a transparent organ that refracts and focuses light to form a clear image on the retina. In humans, ciliary muscles contract to deform the ...

Measuring the Stiffness of Ex Vivo Mouse Aortas Using Atomic Force Microscopy

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Measuring the Stiffness of Ex Vivo Mouse Aortas Using Atomic Force Microscopy

We present detailed protocols for isolation of aortas from mouse and measurement of their elastic modulus using atomic force microscopy.

Arterial stiffening is a significant risk factor and biomarker for cardiovascular disease and a hallmark of aging. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a ...