Research Center for Applied Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan.
Lab Chip. 2011 Feb 21;11(4):695-9. doi: 10.1039/c0lc00155d. Epub 2010 Dec 9.
We combine a micro-fluidic electric-field cell-culture (MEC) chip with structured-illumination nano-profilometry (SINAP) to quantitatively study the variations of cancer cell filopodia under external direct-current electric field (dcEF) stimulations. Because the lateral resolution of SINAP is better than 150 nm in bright-field image modality, filopodia with diameters smaller than 200 nm can be observed clearly without fluorescent labeling. In the MEC chip, a homogeneous EF is generated inside the culture area that simulates the endogenous EF environment. With this MEC chip-SINAP system, we directly observe and quantify the biased growth of filopodia of lung cancer cells toward the cathode. The epidermal growth factor receptors around the cell edges are also redistributed to the cathodal side. These results suggest that cancer-cell filopodia respond to the changes in EFs in the microenvironment.
我们将微流控电场细胞培养（MEC）芯片与结构光照明显微术（SINAP）相结合，定量研究了癌细胞丝状伪足在直流电场（dcEF）刺激下的变化。由于 SINAP 在明场成像模式下的横向分辨率优于 150nm，因此无需荧光标记即可清晰观察到直径小于 200nm 的丝状伪足。在 MEC 芯片中，在培养区域内产生均匀的 EF，模拟内源性 EF 环境。利用这种 MEC 芯片-SINAP 系统，我们可以直接观察和定量分析肺癌细胞的丝状伪足向阴极的倾斜生长。细胞边缘周围的表皮生长因子受体也被重新分配到阴极侧。这些结果表明，癌细胞丝状伪足对微环境中 EF 的变化有反应。
