Cell mechanical properties are fundamental to numerous cellular functions, including growth, division, motility, adhesion, and responsiveness to pharmacological treatments. The mechanics of cellular components collectively contribute to overall cell mechanical behavior. Structures such as the membrane, cytoskeleton, nucleus, and other organelles constitute an interconnected network that is central to the mechanobiology of individual cells. During the progression of tumor cells to a metastatic phenotype, significant alterations in mechanical properties occur, playing a pivotal role in this transformation. To model metastasizing tumor cells, cultivation under deadhesive conditions has been employed. In this study, two cell lines with distinct metastatic potentials — Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) and LLC/R9 — were cultured under either adhesive (representing typical tumor cells) or deadhesive (representing metastatic tumor cells) conditions. The quantitative assessment of cell mechanical properties was found to depend upon the cell cycle phase, measurement technique, and theoretical modeling approach. This article examines alterations in mechanical properties, specifically membrane tension and elastic shear modulus, in circulating metastatic tumor cells as determined via micropipette aspiration. Results indicate that cells grown under deadhesive conditions exhibit greater population homogeneity and a narrower distribution of elastic shear modulus values compared to those grown under adhesive conditions. Furthermore, LLC cells demonstrated lower elastic shear moduli than LLC/R9 cells, correlating with their respective metastatic activities. These mechanical parameters may serve as valuable markers for determining the metastatic potential of tumor cells.
Olenchuk et al. (Thu,) studied this question.