Atomic force microscopy as analytical tool to study physico-mechanical properties of intestinal cells

• Christa Schimpel,
• Oliver Werzer,
• Eleonore Fröhlich,
• Gerd Leitinger,
• Markus Absenger-Novak,
• Birgit Teubl,
• Andreas Zimmer and
• Eva Roblegg

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1457–1466, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.151

• of F-actin filaments [53], resulting in non-linear elasticity. Thus, we alternatively displayed the indentation values in the nanometer range taking into account distinct cell locations of Caco-2 cells and M cells. Evaluation of the attraction/repulsion (adhesion) forces Elastic properties of cells

• properties of cells can be directly linked to cell adhesion, adhesion to the smooth and more elastic surface of M cells is enhanced, thus, facilitating the adherence of antigens and, as a consequence, cellular uptake processes. Experimental Cell cultures Raji B cells were a kind gift from R. Fuchs (Medical

• that form an arch around the edge of M cells. These morphological differences correlate with the cell elasticity: Caco-2 cells show a 1.7-fold reduced elasticity compared to M cells. Moreover, elasticity of M cells increased significantly from the cell edge to the nuclear region. Since elastic

The softening of human bladder cancer cells happens at an early stage of the malignancy process

• Jorge R. Ramos,
• Joanna Pabijan,
• Ricardo Garcia and
• Malgorzata Lekka

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 447–457, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.52

• filaments; atomic force microscopy (AFM); bladder cells; cytoskeleton; elastic properties of cells; malignancy degree of cancer cells; Introduction During oncogenic progression, many cancer-related alterations change both the internal structures of cells and also their surroundings, i.e., the extracellular

• lead to a softening of the cell [16]. The abovementioned research shows that disruption of cytoskeletal filaments is useful for assesing the link between the elastic properties of cells and the structure of the cytoskeleton. It is also worth mentioning that such an approach can be used for studying the

• , the deformability of the cancerous cells reaches a similar level but the organization of actin filaments remains dependent on the cell type. These data underlines the complexity of the remodeling process in actin filaments in cancers that is expressed in the elastic properties of cells. Our findings