Work

Human epithelial cells increase their rigidity with ageingin vitro: direct measurements

Year: 2004

Type: article

Abstract: The decrease in elasticity of epithelial tissues with ageing contributes to many human diseases. This change was previously attributed to increased crosslinking of extracellular matrix proteins. Here we show that individual human epithelial cells also become significantly more rigid during ageing in vitro. Using atomic force microscopy (AFM), we found that the Young's modulus of viable cells was consistently increased two- to four-fold in older versus younger cells. Direct visualization of the cytoskeleton using a novel method involving the AFM suggested that increased rigidity of ageing cells was due to a higher density of cytoskeletal fibres. Our results identify a unique mechanism that might contribute to the age-related loss of elasticity in epithelial tissues.

Source: Physics in Medicine and Biology

DOI: 10.1088/0031-9155/50/1/007

Authors: Tamara K Berdyyeva, Craig D Woodworth, Igor Sokolov

Institution: Clarkson University

Language: English

Topic: Cellular Mechanics and Interactions

Subfield: Cell Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: bronze

Funder: National Science Foundation