Elasticity, Adhesion, and Tether Extrusion on Breast Cancer Cells Provide a Signature of Their Invasive Potential

Georges Smolyakov (1, 2) , Bénédicte Thiebot (3) , Clément Campillo (3) , Sid Labdi (3) , Childérick Séverac (1) , J Pelta (3) , Etienne Dague (2, 1)

1 ITAV - Institut des Technologies Avancées en sciences du Vivant
2 LAAS-ELIA - Équipe Ingénierie pour les sciences du vivant
3 LAMBE - Laboratoire Analyse et Modélisation pour la Biologie et l'Environnement

We use single-cell force spectroscopy to compare elasticity, adhesion, and tether extrusion on four breast cancer cell lines with an increasing invasive potential. We perform cell attachment/detachment experiments either on fibronectin or on another cell using an atomic force microscope. Our study on the membrane tether formation from cancer cells show that they are easier to extrude from aggressive invasive cells. Measured elastic modulus values confirm that more invasive cells are softer. Moreover, the adhesion force increases with the invasive potential. Our results provide a mechanical signature of breast cancer cells that correlates with their invasivity.

Keywords: single-cell force spectroscopy; adhesion; cancer; AFM; tethers; invasivity; metastasis; nanomechanics

Domains: Bioengineering

Georges Smolyakov, Bénédicte Thiebot, Clément Campillo, Sid Labdi, Childérick Séverac, et al.. Elasticity, Adhesion, and Tether Extrusion on Breast Cancer Cells Provide a Signature of Their Invasive Potential. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2016, 8 (41), pp.27426 - 27431. ⟨10.1021/acsami.6b07698⟩. ⟨hal-01552762⟩