[22p-P08-1~10] 12.6 Nanobiotechnology

[22p-P08-5] Quantifying rheological properties of early developing embryo by stress-relaxation atomic force microscopy

〇Yosuke Tsuboyama¹, Megumi Yokobori¹, Tomohiro Matsuo¹, Yuki Fujii¹, Takaharu Okajima¹ (1.Info. Sci. & Tech. Hokkaido Univ.)

Keywords:Atomic force microscopy, embryogenesis, ascidian

The fertilized embryo continuously undergoes cell division while the divided cells differentiates according to embryonic stages. It is recognized that the embryogenesis is regulated by genetic, biochemical, and mechanical factors. However, little is known how single cells change their mechanical and rheological properties during the embryogenesis. Recently, atomic force microscopy (AFM) experiment revealed that the apparent Young's modulus of ascidian embryonic cells increased uniformly during cell division in the animal hemisphere , while in the vegetal hemisphere , the change in the elastic modulus was independent of cell division. In this study, using stress relaxation AFM, we succeeded in quantifying rheological properties of embryo at the single cell level. The results showed that AFM was useful for measuring the rheological properties of the developing embryo, and that the cell rheological properties significantly changed during developmental processes.