Technique Rapidly Measures Cells' Density, Reflecting Health and Developmental State

High-throughput single-cell density measurements enable dynamic profiling of immune cell and drug response from patient samples

Cell density, the ratio of cell mass to volume, is an indicator of molecular crowding and a fundamental determinant of cell state and function. However, existing density measurements lack the precision or throughput to quantify subtle differences in cell states, particularly in primary samples. Here we present an approach for measuring the density of 30,000 single cells per hour by integrating fluorescence exclusion microscopy with a suspended m…

Technique rapidly measures cells' density, reflecting health and developmental state

MIT researchers found a way to measure cell density quickly and accurately -- measuring up to 30,000 cells in a single hour. They also showed density changes could be used to make useful predictions, including whether T cells have become activated to kill tumors or whether tumor cells are susceptible to a specific drug.

Rapid Cell Density Method May Help Predict Cancer Treatment Outcomes

Measuring a cell’s density can reveal important clues about its state, as changes in water content and molecular composition during proliferation, differentiation, or cell death often affect density. However, tracking these subtle shifts at large scale and single-cell resolution has been challenging—until now. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a method to rapidly and accurately measure cell density, an…

How the ‘Google Maps’ of human cells could change the future of globally inclusive medicine

A cellular map of the futureThe aim of the Human Cell Atlas (HCA) is simple…“To create comprehensive reference maps of all human cells—the fundamental units of life – as a basis for understanding human health and diagnosing, monitoring, and treating disease.”While it might seem like an overly bold and wonderfully ambitious goal, the project has already delivered astounding insights with a globally inclusive perspective. Within only eight years o…

Rapid Method for Cell Density Measurement Could Help Predict Tumor Response to Treatment

Measuring the density of a cell can reveal a great deal about the cell’s state. As cells proliferate, differentiate, or undergo cell death, they may gain or lose water and other molecules, which is revealed by changes in density. Tracking these tiny changes in cells’ physical state is difficult to do at a large scale, especially with single-cell resolution, but a team of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers has now found a way…