Clinical doses of radiation reduce collagen matrix stiffness

Cells receive mechanical cues from their extracellular matrix (ECM), which direct migration, differentiation, apoptosis, and in some cases, the transition to a cancerous phenotype. As a result, there has been significant research to develop methods to tune the mechanical properties of the ECM and understand cell-ECM dynamics more deeply. Here, we show that ionizing radiation can reduce the stiffness of an ex vivo tumor and an in vitro collagen matrix. When non-irradiated cancer cells were seeded in the irradiated matrix, adhesion, spreading, and migration were reduced. These data have ramifications for both in vitro and in vivo systems. In vitro , these data suggest that irradiation may be a method that could be used to create matrices with tailored mechanical properties. In vivo , these suggest that therapeutic doses of radiation may alter tissue mechanics directly.