Biophysical Characterization of Pluripotent Stem Cell Mass Accumulation Rate and Intracolony Motion

Abstract

Despite the potential high impact of human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) research in developmental biology, cancer biology, and regenerative medicine, surprisingly little is known about how hPSCs grow, divide, and respond to their environment. In this talk, we will introduce live cell interferometery (LCI) as a new, biophysical measurement approach for precisely quantifying hPSC colony mass distributions and growth rates (Figure 1A,B,D,F). LCI is a quantitative phase microscopy technique in which the phase shift of light as it passes through and interacts with matter inside a cell is measured. Our measurements with LCI show that retinoic acid-induced differentiation minimally slows the rate of mass accumulation, a surprising result considering the large metabolic and proliferative changes associated with the transition away from the pluripotent state. We also present methods to quantify the rate and coordination of intracolony motion from colony mass distribution measurements (Figure 1 C,G). Differentiated colonies exhibit a significantly slower rate of mass motion and significantly less coordination of motion, a previously unknown behavior that may provide new information on the health and differentiation potential of available hPSC lines.View Large Image | View Hi-Res Image | Download PowerPoint Slide