Elastic modulus and hydraulic permeability of MDCK monolayers

K D Schulze; S M Zehnder; J M Urueña; T Bhattacharjee; W G Sawyer; T E Angelini

doi:10.1016/j.jbiomech.2017.01.016

Elastic modulus and hydraulic permeability of MDCK monolayers

J Biomech. 2017 Feb 28:53:210-213. doi: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2017.01.016. Epub 2017 Jan 20.

Authors

K D Schulze¹, S M Zehnder¹, J M Urueña¹, T Bhattacharjee¹, W G Sawyer², T E Angelini³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States.
² Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States; Department of Material Science and Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States.
³ Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States; J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States; Institute for Cell Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States. Electronic address: t.e.angelini@ufl.edu.

PMID: 28173919
DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2017.01.016

Abstract

The critical role of cell mechanics in tissue health has led to the development of many in vitro methods that measure the elasticity of the cytoskeleton and whole cells, yet the connection between these local cell properties and bulk measurements of tissue mechanics remains unclear. To help bridge this gap, we have developed a monolayer indentation technique for measuring multi-cellular mechanics in vitro. Here, we measure the elasticity of cell monolayers and uncover the role of fluid permeability in these multi-cellular systems, finding that the resistance of fluid transport through cells controls their force-response at long times.

Keywords: Cell mechanics; Contact mechanics; Indentation; Mesoscale; Permeability.

MeSH terms

Animals
Cell Culture Techniques
Cell Membrane Permeability
Cytoskeleton / physiology*
Dogs
Elastic Modulus / physiology
Elasticity
Madin Darby Canine Kidney Cells
Microscopy / methods