Liposome Induced Mechanical Properties Changes in Cell Membrane

As one of the key parameters of cell activity, the mechanical properties of cells have aroused many researchers' enthusiasm and been widely studied. Liposome, a high-efficiency vector, has been applied to deliver genetic materials into target cells for the treatment of various diseases, accompanying with negative influences on cell membrane and cellular activities. However, its effects on the mechanical properties of transfected cells remain unrevealed. Atomic force microscope (AFM) has been used for cell morphology studies due to its high spatial resolution, no complex sample preparation, and wide imaging conditions. What's more, AFM force measurement techniques can also be used to study the mechanical properties of cells. Therefore, AFM force measurement technology is an effective method to evaluate cellular response. In this study, AFM was used to investigate the morphology and mechanical properties of HEK293T cells in response to liposome at living cell level. After transformed with the transfection reagent lipofectamine 2000, AFM data suggested a significant increase in roughness and adhesion force but an apparent decrease in Young's modulus. Besides, MTT assay indicated that cells viability was reduced. All results combined to implied that liposome impacted the cell mechanical properties, impaired HEK293T cells.