Figure 1. Cytoskeletal stiffness of cells decreases with increasing invasive potential.

Atomic force microscopy was used to determine stiffness of primary astrocytes and GBM tumor cells when plated on collagen coated TCPS. (A) Cytoskeletal stiffness of primary rat astrocytes, GBM cell lines, U87MG and A172, and primary GBM CICs, BT145. Analysis showed that GBM tumor cells were significantly softer than healthy astrocytes (p < 0.0001). Further, highly invasive CICs were significantly less stiff than less invasive GBM cell lines (p < 0.05). (B) After differentiation CICs with FBS, stiffness of cells significantly increased 2-fold (p < 0.01). (C) Representative brightfield images of astrocytes and tumor cells. N = 3, mean ± SEM.