title: Probing cytoskeleton organisation of neuroblastoma cells with single-cell force spectroscopy.
abstract: Single-cell force spectroscopy is an emerging technique in the field of biomedicine because it has proved to be a unique tool to obtain mechanical and functional information on living cells, with force resolution up to single molecular bonds. This technique was applied to the study of the cytoskeleton organisation of neuroblastoma cells, a life-threatening cancer typically developing during childhood, and the results were interpreted on the basis of reference experiments on human embryonic kidney cell line. An intimate connection emerges among cellular state, cytoskeleton organisation and experimental outcome that can be potentially exploited towards a new method for cancer stadiation of neuroblastoma cells.
authors.affiliation: Nanophysics Unit, Italian Institute of Technology, Morego, Genova, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mescola
authors.forename: Serena
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vella
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scotto
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gavazzo
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Canale
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Diaspro
authors.forename: Aldo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pagano
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vassalli
mesh_terms: D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000166:cytology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D009447:Neuroblastoma / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology