Distinct Membrane Mechanical Properties of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells Determined Using Laser Optical Tweezers

The therapeutic efficacy of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine is determined by their unique biological, mechanical, and physicochemical characteristics, which are yet to be fully explored. Cell membrane mechanics, for example, has been shown to critically influence MSC differentiation. In this study, we used laser optical tweezers to measure the membrane mechanics of human MSCs and terminally differentiated fibroblasts by extracting tethers from the outer cell membrane. The average tether lengths were 10.6 ± 1.1 μm (hMSC) and 3.0 ± 0.5 μm (fibroblasts). The tether extraction force did not increase during tether formation, which suggests existence of a membrane reservoir intended to buffer membrane tension fluctuations. Cytoskeleton disruption resulted in a fourfold tether length increase in fibroblasts but had no effect in hMSCs, indicating weak association between the cell membrane and hMSC actin cytoskeleton. Cholesterol depletion, known to decrease lipid bilayer stiffness, caused an increase in the tether length both in fibroblasts and hMSCs, as does the treatment of cells with DMSO. We postulate that whereas fibroblasts use both the membrane rigidity and membrane-cytoskeleton association to regulate their membrane reservoir, hMSC cytoskeleton has only a minor impact on stem cell membrane mechanics.