title: Atomic force microscope study of tumor cell membranes following treatment with anti-cancer drugs.
abstract: Integrity of the cell membrane is a basic requirement for maintaining the biological characteristics of a cell. In this study, changes in the morphology and ultrastructure of HeLa (human cervical carcinoma), HepG2 (human hepatocellular liver carcinoma), and C6 (rat glioma) cells were studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM) both before and after treatment with the anti-cancer drugs, colchicine or cytarabine. In response to both drugs, the microstructure of the cell membrane of all three cell types displayed similar changes; that is, with increases in drug concentration and reaction time, the degree of morphological changes on the surface of cell membrane increased. These changes included increases in the fluctuation of the surface components of the cell membrane, increase in shrinkage, or even the appearance of pores. Cell viability was maintained, as determined by optical microscope observation of gross cell morphology and by MTT assay results. Analysis of the cell membrane root-mean-square (RMS) roughness showed that under the action of colchicine and cytarabine, RMS values for the cell membranes of all three tumor cell types were positively correlated to the drug concentration and reaction time. This research has great significance for the visual diagnosis of early stage apoptosis in tumor cells in response to anti-cancer drugs, as well as in the studies on the interaction between drugs and cells. The use of AFM can be a rapid and sensitive visual method for studying the interaction between cells and drug.
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, People's Republic of China. jywang@nwsuaf.edu.cn
authors.forename: Jinyi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Zongfang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wan
authors.forename: Wenming
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: Xueqin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Lili
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: Huiying
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Qin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Tu
authors.forename: Zhiyun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Na
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force / Q000379:methods*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents