Mechanical properties of cancer cytoskeleton depend on actin filaments to microtubules content: Investigating different grades of colon cancer cell lines

Biomechanical properties of cancer cells have been proposed as promising biomarkers to investigate cancer progression. Cytoskeletal reorganization alters these characteristics in different grades of cancer cells. In the present study based on the micropipette aspiration method, whole body evaluation for two different colon cancer cells was performed to determine viscoelastic parameters of the cells. A finite element model was developed for verification of experiments and predicting some behaviors of cells. Western blot analysis and fluorescence intensity for actin microfilaments and microtubules were performed to measure cell content of the proteins. It was illustrated that the proportion of microtubules and actin microfilaments is different in grade I and grade IV colon cancer cells in a manner that microtubules attain an effectual role in progressive reorganization of cytoskeleton in transition from nonaggressive to malignant phenotypes in cancer cells. Furthermore, it was concluded that larger instantaneous Young's modulus value for high grade cells is related to the existence of extensively build-up actin networks at the cell cortex. Based on the cell mechanics results, a simple parameter is suggested for sorting different grades of colon cancer cells.