The cytoskeleton is pivotal to the biomechanical properties of cells. It therefore plays a crucial role in the behavior and progression of cancer. Cytoskeletal changes can enable cancer cells to become more mobile, thereby facilitating their infiltration into tissue or metastasis to other parts of the body. Cytoskeletal anomalies can also be associated with specific molecular subtypes of a cancer. For example, the more aggressive subtypes of breast cancer, such as basal-like and Her2+, have

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... tions that alter the protein regulation of the cytoskeleton. These subtypes may, therefore, be detectable via their effect on the cytoskeleton and cell biomechanics. The objective of this work was to determine if high-frequency (10-100 MHz) ultrasonic spectroscopy can detect chemically induced changes in the cytoskeleton of cancer cells. Cell cultures of a human pancreatic carcinoma cell line (panc-1) were grown in monolayers and then treated with sphingosylphosphorylcholine (SPC), a bioactive lipid that rearranges the keratin components of the cytoskeleton. Continuous pulse-echo measurements of the cultures were taken over a period of one hour. Computer simulations were performed to verify the results. The simulations modeled the ultrasonic spectra based on the internal structure of the cells using a multipole expansion method. The experimental spectra showed changes that were consistent with the simulated spectra and the optically observed changes in the keratin network. The results of this research demonstrate that high-frequency ultrasonic spectra are sensitive to cytoskeletal changes in cancer cells induced by SPC.