Depth-sensing analysis of cytoskeleton organization based on AFM data

Atomic force microscopy is a common technique used to determine the elastic properties of living cells. It furnishes the relative Young’s modulus, which is typically determined for indentation depths within the range 300–500 nm. Here, we present the results of depth-sensing analysis of the mechanica...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European biophysics journal 2012-01, Vol.41 (1), p.79-87
Main Authors: Pogoda, Katarzyna, Jaczewska, Justyna, Wiltowska-Zuber, Joanna, Klymenko, Olesya, Zuber, Kazimierz, Fornal, Maria, Lekka, Małgorzata
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Actin Cytoskeleton - metabolism
Biochemistry
Biological and Medical Physics
Biomechanical Phenomena
Biomechanics
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biophysics
Cell Biology
Cell Line, Tumor
Cytoskeleton
Cytoskeleton - metabolism
Elastic Modulus
Elastic properties
Fibroblasts - cytology
Humans
Life Sciences
Mechanical Phenomena
Melanoma
Membrane Biology
Microscopy
Microscopy, Atomic Force
Nanotechnology
Neurobiology
Original Paper
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Summary:Atomic force microscopy is a common technique used to determine the elastic properties of living cells. It furnishes the relative Young’s modulus, which is typically determined for indentation depths within the range 300–500 nm. Here, we present the results of depth-sensing analysis of the mechanical properties of living fibroblasts measured under physiological conditions. Distributions of the Young’s moduli were obtained for all studied cells and for every cell. The results show that for small indentation depths, histograms of the relative values of the Young’s modulus described the regions rich in the network of actin filaments. For large indentation depths, the overall stiffness of a whole cell was obtained, which was accompanied by a decrease of the modulus value. In conclusion, the results enable us to describe the non-homogeneity of the cell cytoskeleton, particularly, its contribution linked to actin filaments located beneath the cell membrane. Preliminary results showing a potential application to improve the detection of cancerous cells, have been presented for melanoma cell lines.
ISSN:0175-7571
1432-1017
DOI:10.1007/s00249-011-0761-9