Deformability and internal ordering are key features related to cell function, particularly critical for cells that routinely undergo large deformations, like T cells during extravasation and migration. In the measurement of cell deformability, a considerable variability is typically obtained, masking the identification of possible interrelationships between deformability, internal ordering and cell function. We report the development of a single-cell methodology that combines measurements of living-cell deformability, using micropipette aspiration, and three-dimensional confocal analysis of the nucleus and cytoskeleton. We show that this single-cell approach can serve as a powerful tool to identify appropriate parameters that characterize deformability within a population of cells, not readably discernable in population-averaged data. By applying this single-cell methodology to mouse CD4⁺ T cells, our results demonstrate that the relative size of the nucleus, better than other geometrical or cytoskeletal features, effectively determines the overall deformability of the cells within the population.

中文翻译：

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单细胞生物物理学研究揭示了T细胞的可变形性和内部有序关系。

变形能力和内部有序性是与细胞功能有关的关键特征，对于像细胞在外渗和迁移过程中经常发生大变形的细胞而言，尤其重要。在细胞变形能力的测量中，通常可获得相当大的可变性，从而掩盖了变形能力，内部有序性和细胞功能之间可能的相互关系的识别。我们报告了单细胞方法学的发展，该方法结合了活细胞可变形性的测量，使用微量移液器的抽吸以及对核和细胞骨架的三维共聚焦分析。我们表明，这种单细胞方法可作为一种功能强大的工具，用于识别表征细胞群体内可变形性的适当参数，而这些参数在群体平均数据中无法辨别。⁺ T细胞，我们的结果表明，相对于其他几何或细胞骨架特征而言，细胞核的相对大小有效地决定了群体中细胞的整体可变形性。