Invited Talk

High-Speed Atomic Force Microscopy and Scanning Ion Conductance Microscopy for Investigating the Mechanics and Dynamics of Cancer Cells

Institute of Applied Physics, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 10, 72076 Tübingen, Germany

Contact:  | Website

This talk will present our instrumental developments of high-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM) and scanning ion conductance microscopy (SICM) and their application in cancer research.

Using a combination of HS-AFM with fluorescence microscopy, we showed that viscoelastic properties of cells from a melanoma cell line change significantly during the cell cycle: cells in the S/G2/M phases are stiffer and less fluid-like than cells in the G1 phase.

Using a combination of SICM with traction force microscopy, we detected that subcellular cell stiffness in normal MCF10A breast epithelial cells spatially correlates with traction force density: regions of large cell stiffness coincide with regions of large traction forces. This correlation is absent in cancerous MCF7 breast epithelial cells.

Finally, we studied the mechanical properties of cancer cells that are confined in narrow channels: unlike non-metastatic MCF7 cells, metastatic MDA-MB-231 cells are softer when confined, have an increased migration velocity, and show translocation of yes-associated protein (YAP) from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, thereby exhibiting a strong metastatic adaptability to confinement.