Open AccessAn in vitro correlation of metastatic capacity and dual mechanostimulation
Author(s) -
Indrajyoti Indra,
Alexander N. Gasparski,
Karen A. Beningo
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0207490
Subject(s) - mechanotransduction , mechanical load , stimulation , mechanobiology , microbiology and biotechnology , stimulus (psychology) , physical stimulation , in vivo , multicellular organism , biophysics , cell , biology , chemistry , neuroscience , materials science , psychology , genetics , composite material , psychotherapist
Cells are under the influence of multiple forms of mechanical stimulation in vivo . For example, a cell is subjected to mechanical forces from tissue stiffness, shear and tensile stress and transient applied strain. Significant progress has been made in understanding the cellular mechanotransduction mechanisms in response to a single mechanical parameter. However, our knowledge of how a cell responds to multiple mechanical inputs is currently limited. In this study, we have tested the cellular response to the simultaneous application of two mechanical inputs: substrate compliance and transient tugging. Our results suggest that cells within a multicellular spheroid will restrict their response to a single mechanical input at a time and when provided with two mechanical inputs simultaneously, one will dominate. In normal and non-metastatic mammary epithelial cells, we found that they respond to applied stimulation and will override substrate compliance cues in favor of the applied mechanical stimulus. Surprisingly, however, metastatic mammary epithelial cells remain non-responsive to both mechanical cues. Our results suggest that, within our assay system, metastatic progression may involve the down-regulation of multiple mechanotransduction pathways.