Mechanosensitivity of Cancer Cells in Contact with Soft Substrates Using AFM.

ABSTRACT: Cancer cells are usually found to be softer than normal cells, but their stiffness changes when they are in contact with different environments because of mechanosensitivity. For example, they adhere to a given substrate by tuning their cytoskeleton, thus affecting their rheological properties. This mechanism could become efficient when cancer cells invade the surrounding tissues, and they have to remodel their cytoskeleton in order to achieve particular deformations. Here we use an atomic force microscope in force modulation mode to study how local rheological properties of cancer cells are affected by a change of the environment. Cancer cells were plated on functionalized polyacrylamide substrates of different stiffnesses as well as on an endothelium substrate. A new correction of the He

SUBMITTER: Abidine Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5883622 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature