Development of a lateral view flow system for studies of cell deformation under flow conditions

Interactions between circulating cells and the vascular wall play a central role in inflammation, metastasis and therapeutic cell delivery. Unfortunately, traditional in vitro flow assays cannot be used to study the effect of blood rheology on cell-surface interactions because of inappropriate geometry and poor penetration of light in erythrocyte solutions. To overcome these limitations, we have developed an agarose-cast vessel system to examine the profiles of cells interacting with surfaces under flow conditions. This design allows observation and quantification of cell deformation, rolling and binding under conditions of dynamic flow without modifying the microscope or optical path. Our results show that the cell deformation index (the ratio of the cell length to cell height) is higher in the presence of erythrocytes, as opposed to saline without erythrocytes