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Possible role of cell cycle-dependent morphology, geometry, and mechanical properties in tumor cell metastasis.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Needham, D
Published in: Cell biophysics
April 1991

Studies that examine the shear- and abrasion-sensitivity of proliferating cells are important in order to understand the behavior of hybridoma cells in bioreactor culture and metastasizing cancer cells in the bloodstream. Little is known about the link between morphology, structure, and mechanical properties of a given cell line, especially with respect to variations throughout the cell cycle. In our experiments with GAP A3 hybridoma cells, distinct cell morphologies were identified and correlated with phases of the cell cycle by video microscopic observation of synchronized cells, and of individual cells that were followed throughout their cell cycle. Micropipet manipulation was used to measure the geometrical (cell volume) and mechanical (apparent cell viscosity) properties of single cells. As the cell cycle progressed at 37 degrees C, an increase in cell volume from 1400 microns 3 to 5700 microns 3 was accompanied by an increase in apparent cell viscosity from 430 poise to 12,000 poise, consistent with an accumulation of more cytoplasmic material in the "older" cells. Hybridomas are representative of the various leukemias derived from hemopoietic cells, and even though as a whole, they appeared to be rather shear-insensitive, the wide range of property values demonstrates that a given cell line cannot be characterized by a single value for any one property, and that properties must be related to the cell cycle when considering proliferating cells. It is interesting to see if distinct stages in the metastatic sequence of events might correlate with any of these physical features of the cell cycle, irrespective of cell type or cell line. For example, the cytokinetic doublet could represent a fragile structure that may fail and produce cell death under fluid-shear conditions that would not affect the cells at any other stage in the cell cycle. Identifying such cell cycle-dependent features in metastasizing cancer cells could lead to a better understanding of the metastatic process and to possible clinical treatments directed at making cells more shear- and abrasion-sensitive, and therefore, more likely to be killed by the natural hydrodynamic forces of the circulatory system.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Cell biophysics

DOI

ISSN

0163-4992

Publication Date

April 1991

Volume

18

Issue

2

Start / End Page

99 / 121

Related Subject Headings

  • Tumor Cells, Cultured
  • Neoplasms
  • Neoplasm Metastasis
  • Hybridomas
  • Humans
  • Cell Cycle
  • Biomechanical Phenomena
 

Citation

APA
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ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Needham, D. (1991). Possible role of cell cycle-dependent morphology, geometry, and mechanical properties in tumor cell metastasis. Cell Biophysics, 18(2), 99–121. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02989809
Needham, D. “Possible role of cell cycle-dependent morphology, geometry, and mechanical properties in tumor cell metastasis.Cell Biophysics 18, no. 2 (April 1991): 99–121. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02989809.
Needham, D. “Possible role of cell cycle-dependent morphology, geometry, and mechanical properties in tumor cell metastasis.Cell Biophysics, vol. 18, no. 2, Apr. 1991, pp. 99–121. Epmc, doi:10.1007/bf02989809.

Published In

Cell biophysics

DOI

ISSN

0163-4992

Publication Date

April 1991

Volume

18

Issue

2

Start / End Page

99 / 121

Related Subject Headings

  • Tumor Cells, Cultured
  • Neoplasms
  • Neoplasm Metastasis
  • Hybridomas
  • Humans
  • Cell Cycle
  • Biomechanical Phenomena