Quantification of cell adhesion interactions by AFM: effects of LPS/PMA on the adhesion of C6 glioma cell to collagen type I

Time-course effects of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) with phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA) were quantitatively examined using an atomic force microscope (AFM) cantilever with a type I collagen-coated spherical bead as a probe. LPS/PMA affects the expression level of fibronectin (FN), increasing the adhesion strength for collagen type I about 1.7 times. After 4 days, the adhesion strength for collagen increased 1.6 times. Our method is suitable for quantitative studies of cell adhesion phenomena on the single cell level.