Regensburg 2010 – wissenschaftliches Programm
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 32: Posters: Physics of Cells
BP 32.10: Poster
Donnerstag, 25. März 2010, 17:15–20:00, Poster B1
Integrin alpha5beta1 increased cell invasion through enhanced contractile forces — •Claudia Tanja Mierke1, Benjamin Frey3, Martina Fellner1, Martin Herrmann2, and Ben Fabry1 — 1University of Erlangen, Biophysics Group — 2University Hospital Erlangen, Dpt. Internal Medicine III — 3University Hospital Erlangen, Dpt. Radiation Oncology
Cell motility is a fundamental biomechanical process in tumor growth and metastasis formation. Cell migration through dense connective tissue usually requires firm adhesion to the extracellular matrix through integrins. For some tumors, increased integrin expression is associated with increased malignancy and metastasis formation. Here, we studied the invasion of cancer cells with different a5b1 integrin expression levels into dense 3-D collagen fiber matrices. Using a cell sorter, we isolated a5b1-high and a5b1-low expressing sub cell lines from parental MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. Cells with higher a5b1 expression showed significantly (3-fold) increased cell invasiveness, whereas knock-down of the a5 integrin subunit lead to decreased tumor cell invasion. Interestingly, knock-down of the collagen receptor integrin subunit a1 did not alter invasiveness, indicating that the effect is integrin-type specific. Fourier transform traction microscopy revealed that the a5b1-high expressing cells generated 5-fold larger contractile forces. Cell invasiveness was reduced after addition of the myosin light chain kinase inhibitor ML-7 or the myosin II inhibitor blebbistatin in a5b1-high cells, but not in a5b1-low cells, suggesting that a5b1 integrins enhance cell invasion through enhanced generation of contractile forces.