Park Soyeun, Lee Yong J
College of Pharmacy, Keimyung University, Daegu, South Korea,
J Biol Phys. 2014 Sep;40(4):413-9. doi: 10.1007/s10867-014-9353-0. Epub 2014 Jun 30.
An enhanced mechanical compliance is considered to be a mechanical indicator for metastatic cancer cells. Our study using atomic force microscopy (AFM) revealed that breast cancer cells agreed well with this hypothesis. However, prostate cancer cells displayed a reverse correlation; less metastatic prostate cancer cells were more mechanically compliant. Two-dimensional AFM force spectroscopy was performed to characterize dual mechanical properties-the cell-substrate adhesion as well as the mechanical compliance. Interestingly, prostate cancer cells displayed a strong positive correlation between the cell-substrate adhesion and metastatic potential. However, there was no clearly observable correlation between the cell-substrate adhesion and the metastatic potential despite variations in mechanical compliance of breast cancer cells. These results suggest that the correlation between the dual mechanical signatures and metastatic potential be uniquely identified for cancer cells originating from different organs. We postulate that this correlation could reveal which step of cancer progression is favorable in terms of physical interaction between cancer cells and micro-environments. We expect that based on the "seed and soil hypothesis", the identification of the dual mechanical phenotypes, could provide a new insight for understanding how a dominant metastatic site is determined for cancer cells originating from specific organs.
增强的机械顺应性被认为是转移性癌细胞的一个机械指标。我们使用原子力显微镜（AFM）的研究表明，乳腺癌细胞与这一假设非常吻合。然而，前列腺癌细胞呈现出相反的相关性；转移性较低的前列腺癌细胞在机械方面更具顺应性。进行二维AFM力谱分析以表征双重机械特性——细胞与基质的粘附力以及机械顺应性。有趣的是，前列腺癌细胞在细胞与基质的粘附力和转移潜能之间呈现出强烈的正相关。然而，尽管乳腺癌细胞的机械顺应性存在差异，但细胞与基质的粘附力和转移潜能之间并没有明显可观察到的相关性。这些结果表明，对于源自不同器官的癌细胞，双重机械特征与转移潜能之间的相关性是独特的。我们推测这种相关性可以揭示在癌细胞与微环境的物理相互作用方面，癌症进展的哪个阶段是有利的。我们期望基于“种子与土壤假说”，双重机械表型的识别能够为理解如何确定源自特定器官的癌细胞的主要转移部位提供新的见解。
