Diabetes can change the viscoelastic properties of lymphocytes

Mechanical properties of the cells are among the most highlighted area of interests among researchers for decades. Not only many of the cells’ crucial functional characteristics such as adherence to the cellular substrate, migration abilities and morphological factors are directly influenced by their mechanical properties but also changes in these traits could have importance in diagnosis and even treatments of some serious diseases. The general mechanical properties of the cells are associated with some intercellular characteristics such as arrangement and organization of the actin fibers and cytoskeleton architecture. Any changes due to pathological conditions in the molecular and cellular processes related to these elements can alter the cells’ mechanical characteristics. In this paper, the viscoelastic properties of diabetic and normal lymphocytes were analyzed and compared by application of the iron nanoparticles attached to the cellular membrane and putting the cells in a magnetic field with certain frequency and intensity. Step force was applied to the normal and diabetic lymphocytes and their membrane displacement was tracked by special software and plotted with respect to time. Fitting the experimental data on theoretical formulation of standard linear viscoelastic model, it was demonstrated that diabetic lymphocytes have significantly different viscoelastic characteristics. The results of this paper can be of importance in assessments of diabetic lymphocytes’ abilities to fulfill their immune surveillance tasks.