Fig. 13.

Possible structure–biomechanics–disease connections in the migration and metastatic efficiency of human Panc-1 epithelial tumor cells. The lower left optical immunofluorescence images were taken using an inverted confocal microscope with a stage pre-heated to 37 °C over a period of 60 min. The top image shows the Panc-1 cancer cell (with two nuclei). When the cell is transfected with 0.5 µg ml⁻¹ of C-HK18-EYFPN1 using Fugene (Roche) and kept in dye-free Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium (20 mM HEPES) in the presence of 10 µM SPC, the keratin network collapses around the nucleus, as shown in the bottom left image. Note the significant reduction, due to SPC treatment, in the spatial distribution of the keratin filaments within the white rectangular area. Microplate mechanical stretch test results of the variation of the effective spring constant of the Panc-1 cell as a function of time before and after SPC treatment. The optical images and biomechanical results are reproduced with permission from Ref. [71].