Application of AFM to the Nanomechanics of Cancer
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Application of AFM to the Nanomechanics of Cancer Shivani Sharma and James K Gimzewski MRS Advances / FirstView Article / May 2016, pp 1 - 11 DOI: 10.1557/adv.2016.255, Published online: 11 April 2016
Link to this article: http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S2059852116002553 How to cite this article: Shivani Sharma and James K Gimzewski Application of AFM to the Nanomechanics of Cancer. MRS Advances, Available on CJO 2016 doi:10.1557/adv.2016.255 Request Permissions : Click here
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MRS Advances © 2016 Materials Research Society DOI: 10.1557/adv.2016.255
Application of AFM to the Nanomechanics of Cancer
Shivani Sharma1 and James K Gimzewski1,2,3 1
2
California NanoSystems Institute, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, 3 University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics Satellite (MANA), National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Tsukuba, Japan
ABSTRACT Cancer cell metastasis is a leading cause of mortality whereby cancer cells migrate from a tumor and spread to distant sites in the body. Understanding metastasis requires a deeper understanding of biomechanics and mechanobiology at the cellular level. We have established the use of Atomic Force Microscopy to infer the mechanical properties of single cells in cultures by measurement of their Young’s modulus. Here we discuss the main advantages, challenges, technological limitations and applicability of AFM based cell mechanics studies along with other emerging high throughput techniques for the development of single cell mechanical based clinical assays for cancer detection and management.
INTRODUCTION The biophysical properties of cancer cells are key to the metastatic potential and processes of practically all-solid tumors such as breast, lung, ovarian and prostate. All four pathomechanisms of malignancy—uncontrolled growth, invasion, and metastasis— are common in cancers[1]. Consequently, biomechanical changes in tumor cells appear to be a general prerequisite for malignancy, independent of peculiar molecular manifestations in individual cancers. Reduced cancer cell stiffness is likely to enable flexible cells to pass through confined spaces, such as circulating tumor cells passing through microvasculature. The characteristic high level of deformability promotes metastasis, allowing tumor cells to detach from a primary tumor and squeeze through stroma, penetrate blood vessel endothelium, survive the circulatory system, and eventually reach a secondary organ for colonization. Although the detailed mechanisms and pathways that result in the observed changes in cell stiffness are not yet fully understood, currently, it is accepted that nanomechanical profiling provides quantitative indicators in clinical diagnosis of cancers with translational significance. CURRENT STATUS OF CE
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