title: AFM nanoindentation detection of the elastic modulus of tongue squamous carcinoma cells with different metastatic potentials.
abstract: Although significant advances have been made in understanding the molecular mechanisms that influence tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) metastasis, less is known about the association between the cellular elastic modulus and TSCC metastasis. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) nanoindentation via the rate-jump method was used to detect the elastic modulus of TSCC cells from patients and cell lines with different metastatic potentials. TSCC cells with higher metastatic potential showed decreases in the elastic modulus compared to TSCC cells with lower metastatic potential. Moreover, the decrease in elastic modulus was accompanied with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), cytoskeleton (F-actin and β-tubulin) changes, small nucleus size and large nucleus/cytoplasm (N/C) ratio. The present findings demonstrate a close relationship between the cellular elastic modulus and the metastasis of TSCC. The elastic modulus detected by AFM nanoindentation via the rate-jump method can potentially be used to grade the metastatic potential of TSCC.
  
  
  
  This team of investigators report the use of an atomic force microscopy-based method to determine the elastic modulus of tongue squamous cell carcinoma cells, and demonstrate that such cells with higher metastatic potential show decreased elastic modulus compared to cells with lower metastatic potential.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Zhuolong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Chaoxu
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Su
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Xiaofeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Zhonghua
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Qianting
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Ningning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Alfonso
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ngan
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Anxun
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000473:pathology; D053145:Cell Nucleus Size; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000473:pathology; D055119:Elastic Modulus; D058750:Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition; D006801:Humans; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D036103:Nanotechnology; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D014062:Tongue Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014404:Tubulin / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D014404:Tubulin
keywords: Atomic force microscopy; Elastic modulus; Metastasis; Nanoindentation; Tongue squamous cell carcinoma