Physical properties of mesenchymal stem cells are coordinated by the perinuclear actin cap

• Published in: Biochemical and biophysical research communications Vol. 409; no. 1; pp. 1 - 6
• Main Authors: Kihara, Takanori, Haghparast, Seyed Mohammad Ali, Shimizu, Yuji, Yuba, Shunsuke, Miyake, Jun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 27.05.2011
• Subjects: 60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES; ACTIN; Actin cytoskeleton; Actins - ultrastructure; Animals; ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPY; CATTLE; CELL PROLIFERATION; Cell thickness and stiffness; Cells, Cultured; Cytoskeleton; Cytoskeleton - ultrastructure; DRUGS; FLEXIBILITY; LASERS; Male; Mechanical Phenomena; Mesenchymal stem cells; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells - physiology; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells - ultrastructure; Mesenchyme; Microscopy, Atomic Force; MICROTUBULES; Perinuclear actin cap; PHYSICAL PROPERTIES; RATS; Rats, Inbred F344; Regeneration; STEM CELLS; Stress Fibers - ultrastructure; THERAPY; THICKNESS; Atomic force microscopy; Cell thickness and stiffness; FBS; Perinuclear actin cap; AFM; MSC; CLSM; Actin cytoskeleton; Physical properties; Mesenchymal stem cells
• ISSN: 0006-291X; 1090-2104
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2011.04.022

► Cell thickness and stiffness of rat MSC are inversely correlated. ► Perinuclear actin cap coordinates the cell thickness and stiffness of rat MSC. ► Physical properties of rat MSCs regulate their proliferation activity. ► Physical properties of MSCs are potent indicators for their physiological functions. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been extensively investigated for their applications in regenerative medicine. Successful use of MSCs in cell-based therapies will rely on the ability to effectively identify their properties and functions with a relatively non-destructive methodology. In this study, we measured the surface stiffness and thickness of rat MSCs with atomic force microscopy and clarified their relation at a single-cell level. The role of the perinuclear actin cap in regulating the thickness, stiffness, and proliferative activity of these cells was also determined by using several actin cytoskeleton-modifying reagents. This study has helped elucidate a possible link between the physical properties and the physiological function of the MSCs, and the corresponding regulatory role of the actin cytoskeleton.