Cytoskeletal Tubulin competes with actin to increase deformability of metastatic melanoma cells.

Cytoskeletal Tubulin competes with actin to increase deformability of metastatic melanoma cells. Exp Cell Res. 2020 Jun 26;:112154 Authors: Higgins G, Peres J, Abdalrahman T, Zaman MH, Lang DM, Prince S, Franz T Abstract The formation of membrane protrusions during migration is reliant upon the cells' cytoskeletal structure and stiffness. It has been reported that actin disruption blocks protrusions and decreases cell stiffness whereas microtubule disruption blocks protrusion but increases stiffness in several cell types. In melanoma, cell migration is of concern as this cancer spreads unusually rapidly during early tumour development. The aim of this study was to characterise motility, structural properties and stiffness of human melanoma cells at radial growth phase (RGP), vertical growth phase (VGP), and metastatic stage (MET) in two-dimensional in vitro environments. Wound assays, western blotting and mitochondrial particle tracking were used to assess cell migration, cytoskeletal content and intracellular fluidity. Our results indicate that cell motility increase with increasing disease stage. Despite their different motility, RGP and VGP cells exhibit similar fluidity, actin and tubulin levels. MET cells, however, display increased fluidity which was associated with increased actin and tubulin content. Our findings demonstrate an interplay between actin and microtubule activity and their role in increasing motility of cells whi...
Source: Experimental Cell Research - Category: Cytology Authors: Tags: Exp Cell Res Source Type: research