New Tools for Monitoring Phenotypic Properties of Single Cells

I will present two projects where novel approaches are used to monitor phenotypic properties of single cells.  The first focuses on single-cell mechanics, which are critical in processes such as tissue development and cancer invasion. However, monitoring mechanical changes of the same cell with high-temporal resolution remains challenging primarily due to invasiveness of the measurement. I will show that scattered acoustic fields from a living cell measured inside a fluid-filled vibrating microchannel is dependent on the cortex thickness and elastic modulus. By monitoring acoustic scattering with a temporal resolution of <1 min continuously throughout multiple generations in mammalian cells, we observe mechanical dynamics during mitosis on timescales that have previously been difficult to access. The second project focuses on circulating tumor cells (CTCs), which play a fundamental role in cancer progression. However, in mice, limited blood volume and the rarity of CTCs preclude longitudinal, in-depth studies of these cells using existing liquid biopsy techniques. To address this, we have devised a method for collecting CTCs from an un-anesthetized mouse longitudinally – spanning multiple days or weeks – to study acute perturbations (e.g. drug treatment) or potentially long-term phenotypes (e.g. tumor progression) within the same mouse. I will show that our microfluidic-based approach eliminates confounding biases driven by inter-mouse heterogeneity that can occur when CTCs are collected across different mice for single-cell RNA-Seq measurements.