cancer research

High metastasis-associated in colon cancer 1 (MACC1) expression is associated with metastasis, tumor cell migration, and increased proliferation in colorectal cancer. Tumors with high MACC1 expression show a worse prognosis and higher invasion into neighboring structures. However, the mediation of the pro-migratory effects is still a matter of investigation.*

In their study “MACC1-Induced Collective Migration Is Promoted by Proliferation Rather Than Single Cell Biomechanics” Tim Hohmann, Urszula Hohmann, Mathias Dahlmann, Dennis Kobelt, Ulrike Stein and Faramarz Dehghani aim to elucidate the impact of single cell biomechanics and proliferation on MACC1-dependent migration.*

The authors found that MACC1 expression associated with increased collective migration, caused by increased proliferation, and no changes in single cell biomechanics. Thus, targeting proliferation in high-MACC1-expressing tumors may offer additional effects on cell migration.*

The mechanical properties of single cells were assessed in the form of the Young’s modulus and cortex tension; both were measured using atomic force microscopy. Briefly, cells were seeded on a petri dish and measured 15 min after seeding to avoid slippage of individual cells. Measurements were conducted using a tipless NanoWorld Arrow-TL2 AFM cantilever array to apply a force of 1 nN that led to deformations of 1–2 µm. The Young’s modulus was calculated using the Hertz model.*

Figure 1 from “MACC1-Induced Collective Migration Is Promoted by Proliferation Rather Than Single Cell Biomechanics” by Tim Hohmann et al. Single cell properties of high- and low-MACC1-expressing colon carcinoma cells. (A,B) depict the results of the biomechanical measurements for the Young´s modulus and the cortex tension. (C,D) show the results of live cell imaging of single cells for the mean speed and the contact area with the substrate. Sample sizes: (A) nSW480/EV = 35; nSW480/MACC1 = 33; nSW620/shMACC1 = 40; nSW620/shCTL = 40. (B) nSW480/EV = 33; nSW480/MACC1 = 31; nSW620/shMACC1 = 25; nSW620/shCTL = 26. (C,D) nSW480/EV = 66; nSW480/MACC1 = 98; nSW620/shMACC1 = 102; nSW620/shCTL = 111. Asterisk depicts statistically significant results with p < 0.05. Box plots show the median (red line), 25 and 75 percentile (box), non-outlier range (whiskers), and outliers (red dots). The mechanical properties of single cells were assessed in the form of the Young’s modulus and cortex tension; both were measured using atomic force microscopy. Briefly, cells were seeded on a petri dish and measured 15 min after seeding to avoid slippage of individual cells. Measurements were conducted using a NanoWorld Arrow-TL2 AFM cantilever to apply a force of 1 nN that led to deformations of 1–2 µm. The Young’s modulus was calculated using the Hertz model. — Figure 1 from “MACC1-Induced Collective Migration Is Promoted by Proliferation Rather Than Single Cell Biomechanics” by Tim Hohmann et al.
Single cell properties of high- and low-MACC1-expressing colon carcinoma cells. (A,B) depict the results of the biomechanical measurements for the Young´s modulus and the cortex tension. (C,D) show the results of live cell imaging of single cells for the mean speed and the contact area with the substrate. Sample sizes: (A) nSW480/EV = 35; nSW480/MACC1 = 33; nSW620/shMACC1 = 40; nSW620/shCTL = 40. (B) nSW480/EV = 33; nSW480/MACC1 = 31; nSW620/shMACC1 = 25; nSW620/shCTL = 26. (C,D) nSW480/EV = 66; nSW480/MACC1 = 98; nSW620/shMACC1 = 102; nSW620/shCTL = 111. Asterisk depicts statistically significant results with p < 0.05. Box plots show the median (red line), 25 and 75 percentile (box), non-outlier range (whiskers), and outliers (red dots).

*Tim Hohmann, Urszula Hohmann, Mathias Dahlmann, Dennis Kobelt, Ulrike Stein and Faramarz Dehghani
MACC1-Induced Collective Migration Is Promoted by Proliferation Rather Than Single Cell Biomechanics
Cancers 2022, 14(12), 2857
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers14122857

Open Access

The article “MACC1-Induced Collective Migration Is Promoted by Proliferation Rather Than Single Cell Biomechanics” by Tim Hohmann, Urszula Hohmann, Mathias Dahlmann, Dennis Kobelt, Ulrike Stein and Faramarz Dehghani is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Atomic Force Microscopy ( AFM ) can be utilized to determine the mechanical properties of tumor tissues in different kinds of cancers, for example breast cancer, liver cancer and lung cancer.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a common subtype of head and neck and other malignant tumors that occurs in increasing numbers. It is therefore important to learn more about the biological factors connected with the early diagnosis and treatment of OSCC. *

The human trophoblast cell surface antigen 2 (TROP2), which is also called tumor-associated calcium signal transduction-2 (TACSTD-2), is a surface glycoprotein encoded by TACSTD. *

Among the various biochemical mechanisms involved in tumorigenesis, the role of β-catenin has been studied extensively. This has shed light on the biological functions of TROP2 and its use as a prognostic biomarker for OSCC. *

TROP2 regulates tumorigenic properties including cancer cell adhesion, invasion, and migration and is overexpressed in many human cancers. Inhibiting TROP2 expression has shown promise in clinical applications. *

In the article “Tissue mechanics and expression of TROP2 in oral squamous cell carcinoma with varying differentiation” Baoping Zhang, Shuting Gao, Ruiping Li, Yiting Li, Rui Cao, Jingyang Cheng, Yumeng Guo, Errui Wang, Ying Huang and Kailiang Zhang investigate the role of TROP2 in OSCC patients using a combination of biophysical approaches including atomic force microscopy. *

The authors demonstrate the tissue morphology and mechanics of OSCC samples during tumor development using NanoWorld Pointprobe® CONTR AFM probes for the Atomic Force Microscopy described in the article and they believe that their findings will help develop TROP2 in accurately diagnosing OSCC in tumors with different grades of differentiation. *

Figure 5 from Baoping Zhang et al. “Tissue mechanics and expression of TROP2 in oral squamous cell carcinoma with varying differentiation”:
Surface morphology of OSCC tissue sections via AFM detection, irregular morphology appeared in the low differentiation
NanoWorld Pointprobe CONTR AFM probes were used for the Atomic Force Microscopy — Figure 5 from Baoping Zhang et al. “*Tissue mechanics and expression of TROP2 in oral squamous cell carcinoma with varying differentiation*”:
Surface morphology of OSCC tissue sections via AFM detection, irregular morphology appeared in the low differentiation

*Baoping Zhang, Shuting Gao, Ruiping Li, Yiting Li, Rui Cao, Jingyang Cheng, Yumeng Guo, Errui Wang, Ying Huang and Kailiang Zhang
Tissue mechanics and expression of TROP2 in oral squamous cell carcinoma with varying differentiation
BMC Cancer volume 20, Article number: 815 (2020)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-020-07257-7

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Open Access : The article “Tissue mechanics and expression of TROP2 in oral squamous cell carcinoma with varying differentiation” by Baoping Zhang, Shuting Gao, Ruiping Li, Yiting Li, Rui Cao, Jingyang Cheng, Yumeng Guo, Errui Wang, Ying Huang and Kailiang Zhang is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.