Characterization of cell elasticity correlated with cell morphology by atomic force microscope

Higher cell stiffness indicating lower metastatic potential in B16 melanoma cell variants and in (−)-epigallocatechin gallate-treated cells

“…This manuscript reports that cell stiffness (measured by AFM) can predict cell migration, and probably metastatic potential, among cell variants with similar morphologies and growth rates: Lower cell stiffness (soft elasticity) with low Young's modulus is associated with higher migration potential, although it was recently reported that cell elasticity (stiffness) was closely related to cell morphology (Guo et al 2012). Previous biomechanical investigations using AFM reported that cancer cells have a lower Young's modulus-i.e., soft elasticity-than normal/benign cells, for example, bladder cancer cells vs. normal bladder cells, breast cancer cells (MCF-7) versus non-malignant breast cells (MCF-10A) (Lekka et al 1999;Li et al 2008).…”

Investigating cell mechanics with atomic force microscopy

“…Details on these methods [106] as well as Young's moduli of a variety of cell types are listed in [35]. Apparent stiffness of mammalian cells, as measured with AFM, typically ranges between 1 and 100's of kPa [9,107,108]. Apparent cell stiffness is highly correlated with the stiffness of the actin cytoskeleton, the structure and mechanics of which are directly influenced by mechanical forces including tension/compression [109,110], hydrostatic and osmotic forces [31,99].…”

Toward the realization of reproducible Atomic Force Microscopy measurements of elastic modulus in biological samples

“…Recently, a change in cell E has been recognized as a marker of disease such as cancer (Cross et al, 2007(Cross et al, , 2008Guo et al, 2012).…”