Thermal instability of cell nuclei

DNA is known to be a mechanically and thermally stable structure. In its double stranded form it is densely packed within the cell nucleus and is thermo-resistant up to 70 degrees C. In contrast, we found a sudden loss of cell nuclei integrity at relatively moderate temperatures ranging from 45 to 55 degrees C. In our study, suspended cells held in an optical double beam trap were heated under controlled conditions while monitoring the nuclear shape. At specific critical temperatures, an irreversible sudden shape transition of the nuclei was observed. These temperature induced transitions differ in abundance and intensity for various normal and cancerous epithelial breast cells, which clearly characterizes different cell types. Our results show that temperatures slightly higher than physiological conditions are able to induce instabilities of nuclear structures, eventually leading to cell death. This is a surprising finding since recent thermorheological cell studies have shown that cells have a lower viscosity and are thus more deformable upon temperature increase. Since the nucleus is tightly coupled to the outer cell shape via the cytoskeleton, the force propagation of nuclear reshaping to the cell membrane was investigated in combination with the application of cytoskeletal drugs.