Atomic force microscopy observations of tumour cell invadopodia: novel cellular nanomorphologies on collagen substrates

Atomic force microscopy was used to map the surface topographies and the fine details of cells from the T98 human glioblastoma brain tumour cell line. The cells were plated on collagen substrate within growth media, and then exposed to air during the microscopy sessions. Over the course of these studies an example of a cytostructural invadopodia was observed extending in a straight line from one cell to another over a distance of approximately 80 µm, but with an estimated deviation from linearity over the length of its path of only ≈ 8 nm µm−1, i.e., < 1%. The remarkable straightness of its path suggests that strong cell-to-cell signalling processes are at work during even this earliest stage of tumorigenesis. A better understanding of the nanoscale morphologies and mechanics of novel cytostructural elements like this particular form of invadopodia may provide insights on new modalities of brain tumour treatment.