(765e) High-Throughput Measurements of Cancer Cell Deformability

We designed a high-throughput deformability cytometer for assessing the mechanical properties of cancer cells. Changes in cancer cell mechanics impact the likelihood of cancer to metastasize within the body, where highly invasive cells are typically more deformable than non-malignant cells or primary tumor cells. Cellular mechanics are often assessed using low throughput techniques, such as atomic force microscopy or micropipette aspiration. The rapid assessment of cellular properties would be particularly useful for characterizing cancer cells due to the high heterogeneity of tumor cells. Here we present a microfluidic device for the high-throughput assessment of cancer cell deformability. Our device consists of an obstacle course of restriction channels for cells to squeeze through. Measurements of entrance time, transit time, and elongation index within the channels are quantified to evaluate the mechanical behavior of cells. We use ovarian cancer cells of variable metastatic potential from a murine model to assess the changes in deformability that relate to the site of cell origin. We consider primary ovarian cancer cells, cells derived from a tumor on the hepatic lobe, and cells from a metastatic tumor found in the lung [Zhang, L. et al., Oncogene, 2016]. We consider the contributions of intracellular structure to the measured changes in cell mechanics using quantitative fluorescence microscopy. This work advances the understanding of how deformability and intracellular structure contribute to the metastasis of ovarian cancer.