Online quantitative phase imaging of vascular endothelial cells under fluid shear stress utilizing digital holographic microscopy

We have explored the utilization of quantitative phase imaging with digital holographic microscopy (DHM) as a novel tool for quantifying the dynamics of morphologic parameters (morphodynamics) of confluent endothelial cell layers under fluid shear stress conditions. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were exposed to fluid shear stress in a transparent cone/plate flow device (BioTech-Flow-System) and imaged with a modular setup for quantitative DHM phase imaging for up to 48 h. The resulting series of quantitative phase image sequences were analyzed for the average surface roughness of the cell layers and cell alignment. Our results demonstrate that quantitative phase imaging is a powerful and reliable tool to quantify the dynamics of morphological adaptation of endothelial cells to fluid shear stress.