Morphology and mechanical properties of gap A3 hybridoma cells as related to cell cycle

The morphological and rheological properties of a hybridoma cell line namely, GAP A3, have been evaluated as a function of its cell cycle. Results show that a hybridoma cell line cannot be characterized by a single value for any one property, and that properties must be related to their cell cycle dependence when considering proliferating cells. It is found that as the cell cycle progresses, an increase in cell volume by a factor of 3 to 4 is accompanied by an overall increase in cell viscosity by approximately the same ratio, consistent with an accumulation of more cytoplasmic material in the older cells. Interestingly, cytoplasmic reorganization in preparation for mitosis resulted in a slight reduction in viscosity. Cell viscosity also showed some temperature dependence. A decrease in temperature from 37°C to 14°C was accompanied by an increase in average cell viscosity by a factor of 10. SEM showed that although most cells were blebbed, cells only displayed microvilli on their surfaces in mitosis and throughout cytokinesis, and that this excess membrane was rapidly recovered by the resulting daughter cells. These results are important in order to evaluate the possible role of certain structural, cell cycle dependent, features in shear and abrasion sensitivity. This is a problem of current concern in the bioreactor culture of mammalian cells.

Duke Scholars

Author David Needham Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materia ...