Gavazzo Paola, Viti Federica, Donnelly Hannah, Oliva Mariana Azevedo Gonzalez, Salmeron-Sanchez Manuel, Dalby Matthew J, Vassalli Massimo
Institute of Biophysics, National Research Council, Genoa, Italy.
Centre for the Cellular Microenvironment, Institute of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
Cell Biol Toxicol. 2021 Dec;37(6):915-933. doi: 10.1007/s10565-020-09569-7. Epub 2021 Jan 9.
Mesenchymal stem cells represent an important resource, for bone regenerative medicine and therapeutic applications. This review focuses on new advancements and biophysical tools which exploit different physical and chemical markers of mesenchymal stem cell populations, to finely characterize phenotype changes along their osteogenic differentiation process. Special attention is paid to recently developed label-free methods, which allow monitoring cell populations with minimal invasiveness. Among them, quantitative phase imaging, suitable for single-cell morphometric analysis, and nanoindentation, functional to cellular biomechanics investigation. Moreover, the pool of ion channels expressed in cells during differentiation is discussed, with particular interest for calcium homoeostasis.Altogether, a biophysical perspective of osteogenesis is proposed, offering a valuable tool for the assessment of the cell stage, but also suggesting potential physiological links between apparently independent phenomena.
间充质干细胞是骨再生医学和治疗应用的重要资源。本综述重点关注新进展和生物物理工具，这些工具利用间充质干细胞群体的不同物理和化学标记，以精细地表征其成骨分化过程中的表型变化。特别关注最近开发的无标记方法，这些方法能够以最小的侵入性监测细胞群体。其中包括适用于单细胞形态计量分析的定量相成像，以及对细胞生物力学研究有作用的纳米压痕技术。此外，还讨论了细胞在分化过程中表达的离子通道库，尤其关注钙稳态。总之，本文提出了成骨的生物物理观点，它不仅为评估细胞阶段提供了有价值的工具，还揭示了明显独立的现象之间潜在的生理联系。
