Abstract: Although significant advances have been made in understanding the molecular mechanisms that influence tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) metastasis, less is known about the association between the cellular elastic modulus and TSCC metastasis. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) nanoindentation via the rate-jump method was used to detect the… Abstract: Although significant advances have been made in understanding the molecular mechanisms that influence tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) metastasis, less is known about the association between the cellular elastic modulus and TSCC metastasis. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) nanoindentation via the rate-jump method was used to detect the elastic modulus of TSCC cells from patients and cell lines with different metastatic potentials. TSCC cells with higher metastatic potential showed decreases in the elastic modulus compared to TSCC cells with lower metastatic potential. Moreover, the decrease in elastic modulus was accompanied with epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT), cytoskeleton (F-actin and β-tubulin) changes, small nucleus size and large nucleus/cytoplasm (N/C) ratio. The present findings demonstrate a close relationship between the cellular elastic modulus and the metastasis of TSCC. The elastic modulus detected by AFM nanoindentation via the rate-jump method can potentially be used to grade the metastatic potential of TSCC.Graphical Abstract: Tongue squamous carcinoma cells (TSCC) with higher metastatic potential underwent a series of molecular changes, and then induced EMT and cytoskeletal disorganization, modulated nucleus size and nucleus/cytoplasm ratio, and finally decreased cellular elastic modulus and mediated TSCC metastasis. Thus elastic modulus may be used to grade the metastatic potential of TSCC and as a diagnostic parameter for TSCC metastasis. Moreover, AFM nanoindentation via the rate-jump method, giving elastic modulus value which is independent of the rate-jump magnitude, is an efficient and reliable approach to detect elastic modulus and enable broad screening of suspicious lesions of TSCC metastasis.
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