Study cell invasion by optical techniques

Cancer is a world-wide health problem associated with an increasing death rate. The mechanisms of how normal cells transform into cancer cells are not fully understood. Intensive investigations have been undertaken to identify genes whose unregulated expression are involved in this process. In this study, we have grown, on collagen gel, adherent mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs) knocked out for Cyl-1 (MEF Cyl1-/- ) which have been transfected with the human proto-oncogene cyclin D1 ( CCND1 ) under the control of an inducible expression system. CCND1 expression can be regulated in the fibroblasts via the presence of an inducer, isopropyl β-D-Thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG). In the absence of IPTG, CCND1 expression is silenced. The migration ability of the resultant cells on the collagen gel has been monitored by complementary optical techniques: the conventional light microscopy; optical coherence tomography and Fourier Transform Infrared Microspcopic Spectroscopy (FTIR) using Synchrotron beam source. It is found that the cells expressing CCND1 exhibited cell invasion morphology and had different matrix compositions near the cell layer in comparison to the cells not expressing CCND1 . The results from this study are consistent with published findings that expression of CCND1 has oncogenic potential and is involved in cell invasion in vitro. Application of complementary optical techniques proves to be an efficient way obtaining morphological and composition information of cell invasion.