Researchers at Virginia Tech have recorded results from a study that ovarian surface epithelial cells from mice can be effectively used in cancer risk evaluation, treatment efficiency, and cancer diagnosis. The results of the study were published in a technical journal Nanomedicine. When researchers observed the viscoelastic properties of the ovarian cells, they found disparities during various stages of ovarian cancer.
The observations revealed that the benign ovarian cells of mice are closely packed and more viscous. Masoud Agah, director of Virginia Tech's Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) Laboratory stated that increase in cell deformation results due to the conversion from a non-tumor benign cell to a malignant cell that results in metastases and tumors in mice.
Agah and his coworkers have observed the elastic or stretching capacity of cells and their capability to attach to other cells. Agah said that the studies related to the biomechanics of the cell, connected to the structure of a cell, are vital for the formulation of detection techniques and disease-curing drugs.
They also succeeded in characterizing cell structure to nanoscale precision with the help of an atomic force microscope (AFM), which is useful in analyzing live cultured cells and to identify vital biomechanical variations between cancerous and normal cells.
Agah states that the studies revealed that cancerous cells seem softer or change shape at high rates when compared to healthy, non-transformed cells. It has been observed that the fluidity of cancerous cells is high.
The researchers chose ovarian cancer for their studies as it is a very dangerous cancer types occurring especially in women. This type is usually diagnosed in elderly patients during the final stages.
The studies performed by Virginia Tech researchers have now demonstrated the transformation of a cell towards malignancy. They show how a cell modifies its size, changes its innate shape from a closely organized structure to develop independently and form tumors.
Agah explained that they have classified the cells as per their phenotype into three phases of cancer in relation with their biomechanical properties such as early-benign, intermediate, and late-aggressive. Schmelz and Roberts reported that the mouse ovarian cancer representation provides convincing and innovative options of studying human cells and gives important details on the progressive phase of ovarian cancer.
The results prove that the cytoskeleton impacts the cell’s biomechanical properties, which is associated with the cancer cells motility and their capacity to attack other cells.
Source: http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/