The mechanics of myeloid cells

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

The effects of cell size, shape and deformability on cellular function have long been a topic of interest. Recently, mechanical phenotyping technologies capable of analysing large numbers of cells in real time have become available. This has important implications for biology and medicine, especially haemato-oncology and immunology, as immune cell mechanical phenotyping, immunologic function, and malignant cell transformation are closely linked and potentially exploitable to develop new diagnostics and therapeutics. In this review, we introduce the technologies used to analyse cellular mechanical properties and review emerging findings following the advent of high throughput deformability cytometry. We largely focus on cells from the myeloid lineage, which are derived from the bone marrow and include macrophages, granulocytes and erythrocytes. We highlight advances in mechanical phenotyping of cells in suspension that are revealing novel signatures of human blood diseases and providing new insights into pathogenesis of these diseases. The contributions of mechanical phenotyping of cells in suspension to our understanding of drug mechanisms, identification of novel therapeutics and monitoring of treatment efficacy particularly in instances of haematologic diseases are reviewed, and we suggest emerging topics of study to explore as high throughput deformability cytometers become prevalent in laboratories across the globe.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)103-112
Number of pages10
JournalBiology of the Cell
Volume112
Issue number4
Publication statusPublished - 1 Apr 2020
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 31916263

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

  • cell migration/adhesion, cell motility/contraction, disease, heart/lung/blood vessels, metastasis