Kinetic study on the elastic change of vascular endothelial cells on collagen matrices by atomic force microscopy.

The elasticity of vascular endothelial cells (HUVEC) was measured with an atomic force microscopy (AFM, Olympus), and analyzed by applying the Hertz model, and those data were compared with ones reported by us previously. The latter elasticity data were measured with AFM Instruments (Seiko) on the basis of the Young's modulus of gelatin gel, which was obtained from the measurement with a tensile tester. The elasticity of HUVEC was concluded to depend on the culture period. The elasticity of the cells cultured on type IV collagen for longer than 4 days led to average elasticity values higher than ca. 10(4)Pa. Moreover, the scattered values of elasticity decreased eminently in the AFM measurement of the cells at room temperature. A few cells, however, appeared to adhere long and tensely on matrix, which seems to one of reasons for relatively high elasticity in our previous works. The possibility of such high elasticity was considered to change in cell adhesion, anchoring on matrix during a long culture period.