Changes in the Mechanical Properties of Cells undergoing Neoplastic Transformation

We report on our effort to characterize the mechanical changes in cells that undergo neoplastic transformation. The cells we are studying include normal human mammary epithelial cells, as well as immortalized and tumorigenic versions of the same cells. We are studying three different aspects of cell behavior using different tools. The measurements include determining the elastic moduli of the different cells (in both the nuclear and cytoplasmic regions) using an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) with a 5.3 um diameter spherical probe; measuring the diffusion and binding of mismatch repair proteins in the different cells using a confocal microscope to perform Fluorescence Recovery After Photobleaching (FRAP) measurements as well as Raster Imaging Correlation Spectroscopy (RICS); and finally measuring the diffusion and transport of different natural organelles such as lysosomes and peroxisomes using particle tracking microscopy. In this presentation, we plan to provide a summary of results in all three areas to date, and to put our measurements in the context of related work published by others.This work is supported by NSF Materials and Surface Engineering grant CMMI-1152781.