Adaptability of single melanoma cells to surfaces with distinct hydrophobicity and roughness

Abstract Cell-substrate interaction is one of the crucial phenomenon that determines cell behavior and fate. Here, we present the results on the effect of physical properties (i.e., hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity and roughness) of polyethylene oxide (PEO) and 1,4-polyisoprene (PI) thin films on adhesion of two melanoma cell lines, originating from primary tumor site from vertical growth phase (VGP WM115 cells) and from its metastasis to skin (WM266-4 cells). Our findings show that cell–substrate interaction is strongly dependent on the stage of melanoma progression. For both studied cell types, the dependence of cellular adhesive properties (quantified from single cell force spectroscopy) on surface free energy, particularly, on its polar component, was observed. Adhesive forces of VGP WM115 cells to thin polymer films (TPF) with various hydrophobicity and roughness are larger as compared to those observed in the case of metastatic WM266-4 cells. The proliferation of the latter cells was higher as for VGP WM115 cells, what agrees with the invasive phenotype of these melanoma cells. In summary, the metastatic WM266-4 cells adapt better to different substrates properties as compared to VGP WM115 ones.