Cell Stiffness Is a Biomarker of the Metastatic Potential of Ovarian Cancer Cells

The metastatic potential of cells is an important parameter in the design of optimal strategies for the personalized treatment of cancer. Using atomic force microscopy (AFM), we show, consistent with previous studies conducted in other types of epithelial cancer, that ovarian cancer cells are generally softer and display lower intrinsic variability in cell stiffness than non-malignant ovarian epithelial cells. A detailed examination of highly invasive ovarian cancer cells (HEY A8) relative to their less invasive parental cells (HEY), demonstrates that deformability is also an accurate biomarker of metastatic potential. Comparative gene expression analyses indicate that the reduced stiffness of highly…

• NS
  National Science Foundation

  Awards: 0932510, CBET-0932510
• DO
  Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems

  Award: CBET-0932510