IMPACT OF TOPOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS ON QUANT ITATIVE MICROSCOPY IN CULTURED-CELLS - APPLICATION TO HORMONE-THERAPY EVALUATION

Quantitative microscopy by image analysis allows not only to measure v arious parameters on each cell but also to consider the global populat ion as a whole. In the hypothesis that cell position is reflecting the relational and dynamical structure of the system, spatial arrangement analysis may help to show up intercellular communication (interaction s and control systems via contact or diffusible factors). We describe a topographical analysis method used to study these neighbour relation ships, and thus the sociological behaviour of the cells. It is applied to the study of the effect of estrogenic and anti-estrogenic treatmen ts on a breast cancer cell line (MCF-7). It shows up that estrogens in crease proliferation and induce an unusual topographical behaviour, no tably in cell cycle phases: cells in S phases are very randomly distri buted. It points out the role of estrogens on the cells neighbour rela tionships inducing the way to a permissive proliferation context. This effect is reversed by antiestrogenic treatment after a few days. Anti estrogenic treatment alone increases the proliferation constraint.