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Optical study of chemotherapy efficiency in cancer treatment via intracellular structural disorder analysis using
Huda M Almabadi1,2, Prashanth K B Nagesh3, Peeyush Sahay1
1Department of Physics and Materials Science, BioNanoPhotonics Laboratory, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee.
Abstract:
As cancer progresses, macromolecules, such as DNA, RNA or lipids, inside cells undergo spatial structural rearrangements and alterations. Mesoscopic light transport-based optical partial wave spectroscopy (PWS) was recently introduced to quantify changes in the nanoscale structural disorder in biological cells. The PWS measurement is performed using a parameter termed as "disorder strength" (L d ), which represents the degree of nanoscale structural disorder inside the cells. It was shown that cancerous cells have higher disorder strength than normal cells. In this work, we first used the PWS to analyze the hierarchy of different types of prostate cancer cells, namely, C4-2, DU-145 and PC-3, by quantifying their average disorder strengths. Results expectedly showed that L d values increases in accordance with the increasing aggressiveness/tumorigenicity levels of these cells. Using the L d parameter, we then analyzed the chemoresistance properties of these prostate cancer cells to docetaxel drug compared to their chemosensitivity. Results show that chemoresistant cancer cells have increased L d values, that is, higher disorder strength, relative to chemosensitive cancer cells. Thus, use of the L d metric can be effective in determining the efficacy of particular chemotherapy.
Insights
Optical partial wave spectroscopy (PWS) quantifies cellular nanoscale structural disorder using disorder strength (Ld). Cancerous cells exhibit higher Ld, correlating with aggressiveness and chemoresistance, aiding chemotherapy efficacy assessment.
Area of Science:
- Biophysics
- Cell Biology
- Cancer Research
Background:
- Cancer progression involves cellular macromolecular structural changes.
- Optical partial wave spectroscopy (PWS) measures nanoscale structural disorder.
- Disorder strength (Ld) quantifies this nanoscale disorder; higher Ld indicates cancerous cells.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze prostate cancer cell hierarchy using PWS.
- To quantify disorder strength (Ld) in different prostate cancer cell lines (C4-2, DU-145, PC-3).
- To assess the correlation between Ld and chemoresistance to docetaxel.
Main Methods:
- Utilized optical partial wave spectroscopy (PWS) to measure disorder strength (Ld).
- Analyzed three types of prostate cancer cells (C4-2, DU-145, PC-3).
- Compared Ld values between chemosensitive and chemoresistant cancer cells.
Main Results:
- Ld values increased with the aggressiveness/tumorigenicity of prostate cancer cells.
- Chemoresistant prostate cancer cells demonstrated significantly higher Ld values than chemosensitive cells.
- PWS effectively differentiated cancer cell aggressiveness and chemoresistance.
Conclusions:
- Disorder strength (Ld) is a reliable metric for evaluating cancer cell aggressiveness.
- Increased Ld correlates with docetaxel chemoresistance in prostate cancer cells.
- PWS offers a promising tool for predicting chemotherapy efficacy.
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