Cellular heterogeneity

Heterogeneous neural cell types

Every tissue in the body is composed of multiple cell types that vary in their gene and protein expression in a spatiotemporal pattern. Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) are a population of special interest due to their potential application for treating musculoskeletal tissue damage and disease. Our lab investigates cellular heterogeneity in these and other cell populations to better understand the behavior of specific cell types. Average measures of mixed cell populations mask the unique characteristics of minor cell types. Through a combination of biochemical and mechanical techniques, we’re exploring how different cells types can be identified and purified/enriched from heterogeneous populations.

  1. Parsons AM, Darling EM. (2021) Temporal responsiveness of adipose-derived stem/stromal cell immuneplasticity. Exp Cell Rep. Preprint release 07/2022. DOI: 10.1016/j.yexcr.2021.112738
  2. Sarnik SA, Sutermaster BA, Darling EM. (2020) Mass-Added Density Modulation for Sorting Cells Based on Differential Surface Protein Levels. Cytometry Part A. PMCID: PMC7855113. DOI: 10.1002/cyto.a.24192
  3. Sadick JS, Crawford LA, Cramer HC, Franck C, Liddelow SA, Darling EM. (2020) Generating Cell Type-Specific Protein Signatures from Non-symptomatic and Diseased Tissues. Annals of Biomedical Engineering. doi.org/10.1007/s10439-020-02507-y
  4. Sutermaster BA, Darling EM. (2019) Considerations for high-yield, high-throughput cell enrichment: fluorescence versus magnetic sorting. Sci Rep. 9:227 (2019). PMCID: PMC6338736.
  5. Parsons AM, Ciombor M, Liu P, Darling EM. (2018) Regenerative potential and inflammation-induced secretion profile of human adipose-derived stromal vascular cells are influenced by donor variability and prior breast cancer diagnosis. Stem Cell Rev Rep. PMCID: PMC6014910
  6. Sadick JS, Darling EM. (2017) Processing fixed and stored adipose-derived stem cells for quantitative protein array assays. Biotechniques. 63(6): 275-280. PMCID: PMC5731247
  7. Sadick JS, Boutin ME, Hoffman-Kim D, Darling EM. (2016) Protein characterization of intracellular target-sorted, formalin-fixed cell subpopulations. Sci Rep. 6: 33999. PMCID: PMC5036045
  8. Beane OS, Darling LEO, Fonseca VC, Darling EM. (2016) Disparate response to methotrexate in stem versus non-stem cells. Stem Cell Rev Reports. 12 (3): 340-51. PMCID: PMC4880537
  9. Labriola NR, Darling EM. (2015) Temporal heterogeneity in single-cell gene expression and mechanical properties during adipogenic differentiation. J Biomech. 48 (2015): 1058-66. PMCID: PMC4380682
  10. Beane OS, Fonseca VC, Cooper LL, Koren G, Darling EM. (2014) Impact of aging on the regenerative properties of bone marrow-, muscle-, and adipose-derived mesenchymal stem/stromal cells. PLoS ONE. 9(12): e115963. PMCID: PMC4277426
  11. Marble HD, Sutermaster BA, Kanthilal M, Fonseca VC, Darling EM. (2014) Gene expression-based enrichment of live cells from adipose tissue produces subpopulations with improved osteogenic potential. Stem Cell Res Ther. 5 (5):145. PMCID: PMC4619280
  12. Kanthilal M, Darling EM. (2014) Characterization of mechanical and regenerative properties of human, adipose stromal cells. Cell Mol Bioeng. 7 (4): 585-97. PMCID: PMC4255916
  13. Beane OS, Fonseca VC, Darling EM. (2014) Adipose-derived stem cells retain their regenerative potential after methotrexate treatment. Exp Cell Res. 327 (2014): 222-233. PMCID: PMC4164584.
  14. González-Cruz RD, Darling EM. (2013) Adipose-derived stem cell fate is predicted by cellular mechanical properties. Adipocyte. 2 (2): 87-91. PMCID: PMC3661107Wet bench research
  15. González-Cruz RD, Fonseca VC, Darling EM. (2012) Cellular mechanical properties reflect differentiation potential of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 109 (24): E1523-9. PMCID: PMC3386052
  16. Darling EM, Guilak F. (2008) A neural network model for cell classification based on single-cell biomechanical properties. Tissue Eng Part A. 14 (9): 1507-1515. PMCID: PMC2748927
  17. Darling EM, Topel M, Zauscher S, Vail TP, Guilak F. (2008) Viscoelastic properties of human mesenchymally-derived stem cells and primary osteoblasts, chondrocytes, and adipocytes. J Biomech. 41 (2): 454-464. PMCID: PMC2897251