BME Seminar Series (Zoom): Dielectrophoresis Insights into Mesenchymal Stem Cells' Heterogeneity

Zoom: https://uci.zoom.us/s/97629106431 Password: 198Sem

Abstract: Tayloria Adams graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a B.S. in chemical and life science engineering and a B.S. in applied mathematics. She earned her M.S. and Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Michigan Technological University (MTU). Her doctoral research examined human mesenchymal stem cells’ dielectric behavior, and she has a patent for a handheld dielectrophoresis device to analyze blood samples (US Patent # 10,012,613). Adams completed her postdoctoral training at UC Irvine in the Department of Neurology and the Stem Cell Research Center. There she studied the dielectric and differentiation properties of neural stem cells for stroke therapeutics. Now, Adams is an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at UCI. Her lab focuses on using electrokinetic techniques to develop membrane capacitance and other cellular properties as reliable label-free biomarkers. Adams has recently received the NSF CAREER Award, NSF Research Postdoctoral Fellow in Biology, and UCI Chancellor’s ADVANCE Postdoctoral Fellow.

Bio: Human mesenchymal stem cells (HMSCs) are good candidates for cell therapy because they act as a self-repair system in the body. HMSCs have the unique ability to support the immune system and release cell signaling molecules depending on the body’s needs. However, HMSC cultures are heterogeneous, containing stem cells, partially differentiated and fully differentiated cells. Sufficiently characterizing HMSCs’ functional behavior before using them in transplant therapy is essential to the development of reliable therapeutic treatment options. Currently, the process for cell characterization is challenging due to a lack of biomarkers that provide an adequate picture of HMSCs functional profile. Therefore, we have implemented dielectrophoresis (DEP), a label-free cell analysis technique, and RT-qPCR to characterize HMSCs dielectric properties and gene expression, respectively. DEP uses electric fields to induce frequency-dependent cell motion via polarization. We have found that bone marrow (BM) derived and adipose (AD) derived HMSCs have distinct DEP and differentiation profiles. This indicates that DEP is a good tool to assess heterogeneity and the DEP profile correlates well with the differentiation profile of BM-HMSCs and AD-HMSCs. It is important to use multiple metrics from the DEP profile (spectra, transient slope, membrane capacitance and cytoplasm conductivity) in heterogeneity assessments.