2026 Interfacial viscoelastic remodeling of epithelial monolayers analyzed using QCM-D

Authors:
Hirotaka KOYAMA*, Tsubasa S. MATSUI*, Kentaro NOI*^,**, Naoki KAGAWA* and Shinji DEGUCHI*^,**^,***

Journal:
Journal of Biomechanical Science and Engineering DOI: 10.1299/jbse.25-00341

Institute:
^* Division of Bioengineering, Graduate School of Engineering Science, University of Osaka
^**R3 Institute for Newly-Emerging Science Design, University of Osaka
^*** Global Center for Medical Engineering and Informatics, University of Osaka

Abstract:
Epithelial cell layers dynamically remodel their mechanical interactions with the substrate, but the quantitative evaluation  of  such  interfacial  behavior  remains  challenging.  Here,  we  employed  quartz  crystal  microbalance with  dissipation  (QCM-D)  monitoring  to  investigate  how  the  viscoelastic  coupling  between  epithelial monolayers and their substrate responds to calcium chelation by ethylene glycol tetraacetic acid (EGTA), which disrupts  cadherin-mediated  cell–cell  adhesion  and  mimics  an  epithelial–mesenchymal  transition  (EMT)-like condition. Time-resolved measurements of resonance frequency and energy dissipation were analyzed using a viscoelastic model to extract changes in apparent elastic modulus and damping ratio. EGTA treatment induced a gradual increase in apparent elasticity and a concurrent reduction in viscous damping, reflecting a transition from a  strongly  coupled  viscoelastic  state  to  a  partially  decoupled  and  effectively  more  elastic  configuration.  The magnitude of these responses increased with culture duration, indicating stronger collective mechanics in more mature  cell  layers. These  findings  demonstrate  that  QCM-D  can  sensitively  detect  dynamic  alterations  in  the interfacial  mechanical  behavior  of  living  cell  layers,  providing  a  simple  and  quantitative  platform  for investigating EMT-associated transitions and other processes involving collective mechanical remodeling.