Open AccessOptical tweezers study of membrane fluidity in small cell lung cancer cells
Author(s) -
Xuanling Li,
Zhaowu Chen,
Yinmei Li,
Hui Liang,
Haowei Wang,
Ming Li
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.420288
Subject(s) - optical tweezers , membrane fluidity , biophysics , transfection , membrane , cell membrane , cell , materials science , cell culture , chemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , optics , biochemistry , physics , genetics
The fluidity of the cell membrane is closely related to cancer metastasis/invasion. To test the relationship of membrane fluidity and invasiveness, we first demonstrated that transfection of small RNA miR-92b-3p can significantly increase invasiveness of the small cell lung cancer cell line SHP77. Then optical tweezers were used to measure membrane fluidity. This study employed continuous and step-like stretching methods to examine fluidity changes in SHP77 cell membranes before and after miR-92b-3p transfection. A newly developed physical model was used to derive the effective viscosity and static tension of the cell membrane from relaxation curves obtained via step-like stretching. Experiments showed that invasiveness and fluidity increased significantly after miR-92b-3p transfection. This study paved the way toward a better understanding of cancer cell invasion and membrane mechanical characteristics.