Comparison of Cancer Cell Elasticity by Cell Type

Abstract

Lower cellular elasticity is a distinguishing feature of cancer cells compared with normal cells. To determine whether cellular elasticity differs based on cancer cell type, cells were selected from three different cancer types including breast, cervix, and lung. For each cancer type, one counterpart normal cell and three types of cancer cells were selected, and their elasticity was measured using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The elasticity of normal cells was in the order of MCF10A > WI-38 ≥ Ect1/E6E7 which corresponds to the counterpart normal breast, lung, and cervical cancer cells, respectively. All cancer cells exhibited lower elasticity than their counterpart normal cells. Compared with the counterpart normal cells, the difference in cellular elasticity was the greatest in cervical cancer cells, followed by lung and breast cancer cells. This result indicates lower elasticity is a unique property of cancer cells; however, the reduction in elasticity may depend on the histological origin of the cells. The F-actin cytoskeleton of cancer cells was different in structure and content from normal cells. The F-actin is mainly distributed at the periphery of cancer cells and its content was mostly lower than that seen in normal cells.

On the Determination of Mechanical Properties of Aqueous Microgels—Towards High-Throughput Characterization

“…Biomechanical properties change during cancer progression. Cells became more deformable, as has been shown by AFM measurements conducted for various cancers, including bladder [ 107 ], lung, cervical and breast cancers [ 62 ].…”

“…Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a widely used technique employed to quantify the mechanical properties of various soft materials, including hydrogels [ 60 ], microgels [ 61 ] and living cells [ 62 ]. In the AFM, the sample is attached to a support placed, typically, on a piezoelectric XY scanner.…”

A Novel Method in Identifying Pyroptosis and Apoptosis Based on the Double Resonator Piezoelectric Cytometry Technology

“…The storage modulus ( G ′) and the loss modulus ( G ″) increased in response to the first LPS treatment and the second co-treatment with LPS and CTB. As the elastic modulus is correlated with cytoskeletal changes [ 27 ], it is likely that the F-actin polymerization or retrograde actin flow that drives the plasma membrane outward during pyroptosis leads to an increase in the elastic modulus.…”

Evaluation of quasi-static and dynamic nanomechanical properties of bone-metastatic breast cancer cells using a nanoclay cancer testbed

“…In contrast, cancerous epithelial cells most often exhibit disruption in stable cell-cell adhesion due to alterations in either adherens junctions or actin cytoskeleton [15][16][17] . A few studies have also compared the distribution/expression of the actin cytoskeleton in breast cancer cells with normal breast cells using fluorescence staining/western blot and observed impaired stress fiber formation/reduced levels of F-actin expression in breast cancer cells as compared to normal breast cells 7,9,[18][19][20] .Various methods are used to measure mechanical properties of cells, including atomic force microscopy (AFM) 7,8,18,19,[21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35] and direct nanoindentation 36,37 . Intrinsic differences exist between the various mechanobiological experiments conducted in the context of geometry of indentor, its penetration as well as engagement of varying volumes of the cell.…”

“…In contrast, cancerous epithelial cells most often exhibit disruption in stable cell-cell adhesion due to alterations in either adherens junctions or actin cytoskeleton [15][16][17] . A few studies have also compared the distribution/expression of the actin cytoskeleton in breast cancer cells with normal breast cells using fluorescence staining/western blot and observed impaired stress fiber formation/reduced levels of F-actin expression in breast cancer cells as compared to normal breast cells 7,9,[18][19][20] .…”