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Updated: Jun 4, 2025

Visualizing Membrane Ruffle Formation using Scanning Electron Microscopy
Published on: May 27, 2021
EMT-Induced Morphological Variations on Living Cell Membrane Surface
Hiroki Ida1,2,3,4,5, Noriko Taira5, Yuji Nashimoto2,6
1Department of Electrical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8601, Japan.
Abstract:
Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a drastic and important cellular process by which epithelial cells acquire a mesenchymal phenotype. Herein, we evaluated EMT-induced membrane variations using scanning ion conductance microscopy (SICM), which allows noninvasive nanoscale visualization. The results showed that the number and size of ruffles on the living cell surface decreased as the EMT progressed. It was also shown that the overall cell shape change occurred first rather than the nanoscale morphological variations. Time-lapse imaging using SICM showed that the small ruffles still moved actively after EMT induction. This study indicates that surface shape measurements using SICM may be useful indicators for assessing EMT progression.
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