Authors: L. Petecchia, F. Viti, F. Sbrana, M. Vassalli, P. Gavazzo

Journal: Biophysical Chemistry (2017)

Institution: Biophysics Institute, National Research Council of Italy, Genova

Research Areas: Stem cell research

Cell Lines: hBM-MSCs (Human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells)

Summary: The authors wrote their own software for multi-parameter morphology analysis. Digital Holography allowed to extract a set of quantitative indicators associated with the specific biological state and, among all possible parameters, the average thickness, T, and the roughness kurtosis, RK, allowed to produce a scatter plot in which full osteoblasts, full adipocytes, and undifferentiated hBM-MSC lie in well-separated regions of the space. Noteworthy, this T-RK graph was successfully extended to all conditions and provided a clear and prompt visualization of the cellular commitment in terms of position in the T-RK plane.

Keywords: HoloMonitor M3, Quantitative phase imaging, Real time qPCR, Morphometry, Osteoblast, Adipocyte