Acoustic Trapping Technique for Studying Calcium Response of a Suspended Breast Cancer Cell: Determination of Its Invasion Potentials

IEEE Trans Ultrason Ferroelectr Freq Control. 2019 Apr;66(4):737-746. doi: 10.1109/TUFFC.2019.2894662. Epub 2019 Jan 24.

Abstract

A noncontact single-beam acoustic trapping technique has proven to be a promising tool for cell manipulation and characterization that provide essential knowledge for a variety of biomedical applications. Here, we investigated cell characteristics as to whether the calcium responses of suspended breast cancer cells to different acoustic trapping forces are related to their invasiveness. For this, we combined a single-beam acoustic trapping system with a 30-MHz press-focused lithium niobate ultrasound transducer and an epifluorescence microscope. Using the system, intracellular calcium changes of suspended MDA-MB-231 (highly invasive) and MCF-7 (weakly invasive) cells were monitored while trapping the cells at different acoustic pressures. The results showed that a single suspended breast cancer cell isolated by the acoustic microbeam behaved differently on the calcium elevation in response to changes in acoustic trapping force, depending on its invasiveness. In particular, the MDA-MB-231 cells exhibited higher calcium elevation than MCF-7 cells when each cell was trapped at low acoustic pressure. Based on these results, we believe that the single-beam acoustic trapping technique has high potential as an alternative tool for determining the degree of invasiveness of suspended breast cancer cells.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Breast Neoplasms* / diagnostic imaging
  • Breast Neoplasms* / metabolism
  • Breast Neoplasms* / physiopathology
  • Calcium* / metabolism
  • Calcium* / physiology
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Survival
  • Equipment Design
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Optical Tweezers
  • Single-Cell Analysis / instrumentation
  • Single-Cell Analysis / methods*
  • Transducers
  • Ultrasonography / instrumentation
  • Ultrasonography / methods*

Substances

  • Calcium