5 hours ago by Denis Paiste MIT biological engineering graduate student Frances Liu works with a spiral-shaped inertial microfluidic separation device for separating stem cell populations in the Laboratory for Material Chemomechanics at MIT. This device was adapted from previous designs to separate cells as a function of diameter. Liu also grows bone marrow-derived stem cells and studies how those stem cells release certain chemicals in response to mechanical interactions with materials in the surrounding environment. Credit: Denis Paiste/Materials Processing Center
Researchers in MIT Associate Professor Krystyn J. Van Vliet's group last year showed that three biomechanical and biophysical markers could accurately identify the most desirable stem cells from a mixed group of bone marrow-derived cells. Now, MIT biological engineering graduate student Frances Liu is trying to advance that work by understanding how to alter the stem cells' physical environment to get them to produce the most desirable chemical output.
The bone marrow cells secrete special chemicals called cytokines that are needed in the body to repair bone tissue, fat tissue, and connective tissue like cartilage. "These so-called factors that the cells produce are associated with those tissue growth functions and tissue repair functions," Van Vliet says.
Liu grows bone marrow-derived stem cells and studies how those stem cells release certain chemicals in response to mechanical interactions with materials in their surrounding environment. "I would like to manipulate the cells, using cell-material interactions, or synthetic materials, to produce certain chemicals beneficial to tissue repair," Liu explains in the Laboratory for Material Chemomechanics at MIT. "Right now we are in the characterization phase, quantifying which and how much of different cytokines the cells secrete in response to different chemical and mechanical cues that we provide. Down the line, we aim to engineer those cytokine profiles using cell-material interactions." Liu, 24, is a third-year PhD student and expects to complete her doctorate in 2017. She received her bachelor of science degree in biomedical engineering from Brown University.
Liu is examining how various groups of stem cells differ in response to lab-controlled changes in their environment in ways that might be important for tissue repair in the body. "Frances is determining the correlations between the mechanical properties of the materials the cells interact with and the chemical factors that they produce in response to that chemomechanical coupling," Van Vliet says.
Heterogeneous cellular factories
"You can think of the cells as factories; they're factories of chemicals," Van Vliet explains. "One of the main ways you change the way that factory operates is you change the material properties of its environment. How stiff that environment is, how acidic that environment is, how rough that environment is, all of those characteristics of the cell's outside world can directly correlate with the chemicals that that cell produces. We don't really understand all of why that happens yet, but part of Frances' thesis is to understand these particular stem cells and the subpopulations within them."
While other researchers previously studied mechanical factors such as stiffness on the function of these mesenchymal (bone marrow-derived) stem cells, it wasn't widely recognized that they were examining a mixed population of cells, not a single well-defined cell population. "Some of them were stem cells, but some were not," Van Vliet says.
One way that Liu sorts her stem cells into groups is using an inertial microfluidic separation device that separates cells of large diameter cells from those of small diameter. This device was adapted from previous designs of their collaborator, MIT Professor Jongyoon Han, as part of the interdisciplinary team that Van Vliet leads within the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART). The group showed in a 2014 paper that three markerssize, mechanical stiffness, and how much the nucleus inside the cell moves aroundare sufficient to identify stem cells in a heterogeneous population of chemically similar but non-stem cells. "We measured those three properties as well as several other properties, but only those three properties together, that triplet of properties, distinguished a stem cell from a non-stem cell," Van Vliet says.
By using the microfluidic device, we can better understand the differences between the subpopulations of these heterogeneous bone marrow cells and which cytokines each subpopulation may be secreting, both in the body and in the lab.
See the rest here:
Altering mechanical properties of cell environments to produce desired chemical outputs
- More Stem Cells Extracted For Later Use For My MS - March 14th, 2011 [March 14th, 2011]
- Stem Cell Institute Panama City Panama - April 1st, 2011 [April 1st, 2011]
- Cells That Heal Us From Cradle To Grave: A Quantum Leap in Medical Science - April 8th, 2011 [April 8th, 2011]
- Macular Degeneration Improved With Stem Cells - April 8th, 2011 [April 8th, 2011]
- Stem Cell Therapy for Kidney Failure - April 15th, 2011 [April 15th, 2011]
- SIRA: Could Stem Cell Therapy Renew Your Body Cells? - April 22nd, 2011 [April 22nd, 2011]
- Stem Cell Therapy for Autism - May 20th, 2011 [May 20th, 2011]
- Stem Cell Therapy for Critical Limb Ischemia - May 21st, 2011 [May 21st, 2011]
- STEM CELLS FOR MACULAR DEGENERATION Sam Smith's story.wmv - May 21st, 2011 [May 21st, 2011]
- Stem Cell Therapy Success - May 21st, 2011 [May 21st, 2011]
- Doctors Use Stem Cells to Grow New Windpipes - May 21st, 2011 [May 21st, 2011]
- Dog Undergoes Stem Cell Therapy - May 23rd, 2011 [May 23rd, 2011]
- Stem Cell Therapy for Multiple Sclerosis - May 23rd, 2011 [May 23rd, 2011]
- Dogs now getting stem cell therapy - May 24th, 2011 [May 24th, 2011]
- Stem Cell Therapy for Rheumatoid Arthritis - May 30th, 2011 [May 30th, 2011]
- Stem Cell Therapy for Type II Diabetes - May 31st, 2011 [May 31st, 2011]
- Stem Cell Therapy for Cerebral Palsy - May 31st, 2011 [May 31st, 2011]
- Visions Episode 92: Stem Cells Discovery - May 31st, 2011 [May 31st, 2011]
- Stem Cell Therapy For Alzheimer's/Dementia - June 1st, 2011 [June 1st, 2011]
- Stem Cell Patient Richard H. MS Treatment - June 10th, 2011 [June 10th, 2011]
- Stem Cell Therapy Injections - June 12th, 2011 [June 12th, 2011]
- Stem Cells Used to Grow Windpipes - June 20th, 2011 [June 20th, 2011]
- Stem Cell Therapy for Stroke - Gary Steinberg, Stanford University - June 21st, 2011 [June 21st, 2011]
- Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS): UCSD Team's Stem Cell Therapy Approach - June 23rd, 2011 [June 23rd, 2011]
- Stem Cell Therapy Cream: Less Wrinkles In 30 Days or Less Anti-Wrinkle Cream That Works - June 26th, 2011 [June 26th, 2011]
- Stem Cell Therapy for Spinal Cord Injury - Injured Airline Pilot Flies Again - June 27th, 2011 [June 27th, 2011]
- Clinical Advances in Adult Stem Cell Therapy: Dr. Jorge Paz - June 27th, 2011 [June 27th, 2011]
- Stem Cell Injection Treatment - Stem Cell Therapy - June 27th, 2011 [June 27th, 2011]
- Stem Cell Therapy MS: Sam Harrell and The Superbowl - June 27th, 2011 [June 27th, 2011]
- Documentary: Stem Cell Therapy for Muscular Dystrophy - Ryan Benton's Story - June 30th, 2011 [June 30th, 2011]
- Stem Cell Therapy--Hillcrest Animal Hospital - July 14th, 2011 [July 14th, 2011]
- WAVE3 News Adipose Stem Cell Therapy - July 20th, 2011 [July 20th, 2011]
- Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS): Stem Cell Therapy - A Patient's Perspective - July 23rd, 2011 [July 23rd, 2011]
- University of Melbourne announce Stem Cells Discovery - July 28th, 2011 [July 28th, 2011]
- Stem Cell Therapy (Regenerative Medicine) in New Jersey - August 9th, 2011 [August 9th, 2011]
- Spinal Cord Injury - Stem Cell Therapy - August 9th, 2011 [August 9th, 2011]
- Dr. Craig Saunders Adult Stem Cell Therapy - August 9th, 2011 [August 9th, 2011]
- Embryonic stem cell therapy in China (www.esctherapy.com) - August 13th, 2011 [August 13th, 2011]
- Mesenchymal stem cells and marrow stromal cells - August 15th, 2011 [August 15th, 2011]
- Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Regenerative Medicine: Of Hopes and Challenges - August 15th, 2011 [August 15th, 2011]
- Cardiomyogenic differentiation of Mesenchymal Stem cells (KUM2/9-15c) - August 15th, 2011 [August 15th, 2011]
- SENS4 - Engineered Mesenchymal Stem Cells - The Road to Skeletal Tissue Regeneration (1/3) - August 15th, 2011 [August 15th, 2011]
- Mesenchymal stem cells and marrow stromal cells---2nd--- - August 15th, 2011 [August 15th, 2011]
- Cadiomyogenesis of human mesenchymal stem cells - August 15th, 2011 [August 15th, 2011]
- Mesenchymal Stem Cells Transplantation In Heart.wmv - August 15th, 2011 [August 15th, 2011]
- Ying Liu discusses IPS cell therapy for ALS - August 15th, 2011 [August 15th, 2011]
- Non-controversial Stem Cells: Rationale for Clinical Use: Neil Riordan, Ph.D. - Miami, FL - August 16th, 2011 [August 16th, 2011]
- From Surgical Repair to Stem Cell Repair: A Surgeon's Journey by Leonard Smith MD, FACS - August 16th, 2011 [August 16th, 2011]
- Bone Marrow Aspiration - Stem Cell Therapy - August 16th, 2011 [August 16th, 2011]
- Non-controversial Stem Cells: Rationale for Clinical Use - Dr. Neil Riordan - August 16th, 2011 [August 16th, 2011]
- TEDxSingapore - Susan Lim - Hype and hope of stem cell research - August 16th, 2011 [August 16th, 2011]
- Cryo-Lip Instruction Video.VOB.flv - August 16th, 2011 [August 16th, 2011]
- Stem Cells Repair Damaged Heart [7-07-2011] - August 16th, 2011 [August 16th, 2011]
- Andalusian Stem Cell Bank - August 16th, 2011 [August 16th, 2011]
- Adult Stem Cell Therapy Clinical Advances - Dr. Jorge Paz in San Diego, CA March 2011 - August 16th, 2011 [August 16th, 2011]
- Mesenchymal Stem Cells Drive New MS Study/Treatment - August 26th, 2011 [August 26th, 2011]
- Sims 2 Mafia Story Part 7 - Farewell, Godfather/Stem Cell Medicine - August 28th, 2011 [August 28th, 2011]
- STEM CELLS - Mesenchymal Stem Cells (Balzitt).flv - August 30th, 2011 [August 30th, 2011]
- Regenerative Medicine With Stem Cell Therapy Injections at an Arizona pain clinic (602) 507-6550 - September 3rd, 2011 [September 3rd, 2011]
- Stem Cell Research: Huntington's Disease - September 5th, 2011 [September 5th, 2011]
- Autism Stem Cell Trip - September 6th, 2011 [September 6th, 2011]
- Before/After Stem Cell for COPD: From Unable to Walk, to Dancing at My Daughter's Wedding - September 6th, 2011 [September 6th, 2011]
- Regenerative Medicine with Placenta Extracts and Stem Cell Therapies - Dr. Janethy Balakrishnan - September 6th, 2011 [September 6th, 2011]
- Stem Cells - September 6th, 2011 [September 6th, 2011]
- The Politics and Promise of Stem Cell Research - September 6th, 2011 [September 6th, 2011]
- Stem cell therapy in Guatemala - (closer than China) - September 7th, 2011 [September 7th, 2011]
- Stem Cell Therapy for Cerebral Palsy - Holly Catalano - September 9th, 2011 [September 9th, 2011]
- Clinical Advances in Adult Stem Cell Therapy - Dr. Jorge Paz Rodriguez (Miami) - September 9th, 2011 [September 9th, 2011]
- CryoLip Stem Cell Preservation - September 20th, 2011 [September 20th, 2011]
- Dr. Gonzalez tells his story of Stem Cell Treatment and Stem Cell Therapy - September 23rd, 2011 [September 23rd, 2011]
- A Three Minute Cell Passage - September 23rd, 2011 [September 23rd, 2011]
- Bone Marrow - Stem Cell Prolotherapy - September 23rd, 2011 [September 23rd, 2011]
- Stem Cell Therapy- Interview with Indian Surgeon - September 23rd, 2011 [September 23rd, 2011]
- Cryo-Lip.f4v - September 23rd, 2011 [September 23rd, 2011]
- CryoCord Corporate Video (2 Mins) - September 23rd, 2011 [September 23rd, 2011]
- SENS4 - Engineered Mesenchymal Stem Cells - The Road to Skeletal Tissue Regeneration (3/3) - September 23rd, 2011 [September 23rd, 2011]
- What are stem cells? - September 24th, 2011 [September 24th, 2011]
- Dental stem cell bank in Hyderabad - September 24th, 2011 [September 24th, 2011]
- Stem Cell Therapeutics: Tissue Regeneration - Christopher J. Centeno, MD - September 25th, 2011 [September 25th, 2011]
- Stem Cell Types and Sources - September 25th, 2011 [September 25th, 2011]