Properties of cells through life and death - an acoustic microscopy investigation

Current methods to evaluate the status of a cell are largely focused on fluorescent identification of molecular biomarkers. The invasive nature of these methods - requiring either fixation, chemical dyes, genetic alteration, or a combination of these - prevents subsequent analysis of samples. In light of this limitation, studies have considered the use of physical markers to differentiate cell stages. Acoustic microscopy is an ultrahigh frequency (>100 MHz) ultrasound technology that can be used to calculate the mechanical and physical properties of biological cells in real-time, thereby evaluating cell stage in live cells without invasive biomarker evaluation. Using acoustic microscopy, MCF-7 human breast adenocarcinoma cells within the G1, G2, and metaphase phases of the proliferative cell cycle, in addition to early and late programmed cell death, were examined. Physical properties calculated include the cell height, sound speed, acoustic impedance, cell density, adiabatic bulk modulus, and the ultrasonic attenuation. A total of 290 cells were measured, 58 from each cell phase, assessed using fluorescent and phase contrast microscopy. Cells actively progressing from G1 to metaphase were marked by a 28% decrease in attenuation, in contrast to the induction of apoptosis from G1, which was marked by a significant 81% increase in attenuation. Furthermore late apoptotic cells separated into 2 distinct groups based on ultrasound attenuation, suggesting that presently-unidentified sub-stages may exist within late apoptosis. A methodology has been implemented for the identification of cell stages without the use of chemical dyes, fixation, or genetic manipulation.