Local mechanical properties of bladder cancer cells measured by AFM as a signature of metastatic potential

The rheological properties of bladder cancer cells of different invasivities have been investigated using a microrheological technique well adapted in the range [1-300 Hz] of interest to understand local changes in the cytoskeleton microstructure, in particular actin fibres. Drugs disrupting actin and actomyosin functions were used to study the resistance of such cancer cells. Results on a variety of cell lines were fitted with a model revealing the importance of two parameters, the elastic shear plateau modulus G(N)(0) as well as the glassy transition frequency f(T). These parameters are good markers for invasiveness, with the notable exception of the cell periphery, which is stiffer for less invasive cells, and could be of importance in cancer metastasis.