Understanding Structure-Mechanical Property Relationship of Breast Cancer Cells

Abstract

Cancer has long been one of the leading causes of death in the world. Cell mechanics has been extended to study cancer from a mechanistic perspective in order to better understand the pathophysiology of cancer. In this thesis, mechanical properties of non-malignant (MCF-10A) and malignant breast epithelial cells (MCF-7) in suspension and adherent condition were characterized using different techniques including microfluidics, micropipette aspiration, AFM. MCF-7 was found to be twice softer than MCF-10A, and isolated nuclei of MCF-7 were also found to be twice softer than that of MCF-10A. Distinct difference was found both in the actin structure and nuclear structure of MCF-7 and MCF-10A. Our results indicate the structure-property relationship of breast cancer cells, which might help in cancer diagnosis and understanding mechanism of cancer metastasis.