Size homeostasis in adherent cells studied by synthetic phase microscopy

Yongjin Sung, Amit Tzur, Seungeun Oh, Wonshik Choi, Victor Li, Ramachandra R. Dasari, Zahid Yaqoob, Marc W. Kirschner

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    77 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The coupling of the rate of cell growth to the rate of cell division determines cell size, a defining characteristic that is central to cell function and, ultimately, to tissue architecture. The physiology of size homeostasis has fascinated generations of biologists, but the mechanism, challenged by experimental limitations, remains largely unknown. In this paper, we propose a unique optical method that can measure the dry mass of thick live cells as accurately as that for thin cells with high computational efficiency. With this technique, we quantify, with unprecedented accuracy, the asymmetry of division in lymphoblasts and epithelial cells. We can then use the Collins-Richmond model of conservation to compute the relationship between growth rate and cell mass. In attached epithelial cells, we find that due to the asymmetry in cell division and sizedependent growth rate, there is active regulation of cell size. Thus, like nonadherent cells, size homeostasis requires feedback control.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)16687-16692
    Number of pages6
    JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
    Volume110
    Issue number41
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2013 Oct 8

    Keywords

    • Cell division asymmetry
    • Cell dry mass
    • Cell growth
    • Interferometry
    • Synthetic phase microscopy

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • General

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