According to New Atlas, when our cells interact with neighboring cells or surrounding materials called extracellular matrices, they are subjected to subtle mechanical pressures that affect their behavior. Part of this includes increased proliferation and tissue growth when cells are in a state of tension.A new study on cancer cells points out the biological mechanism that drives this process, and the author believes that it can be used as a target to prevent tumor development.
The research conducted by scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign centered on proteins called calcineurins, whose role in binding cells and tissues together has been likened to “velcro.” When doing so, they adhere to growth factor receptors, thereby preventing “communication” between these receptors and growth factor proteins, depriving tissues of substances needed for growth.
Scientists set out to study how intracellular tension affects this relationship between human cancer cells and change the way they transform mechanical cues into biological signals. The experiment involved a process called “cell stretcher” in which cancer cells were grown on a flexible medium, forming a thin layer on it.
This allowed scientists to stretch the cells so that they were in a state of tension, which brought about signal changes consistent with tissue growth and tumor development. The research team found that the increased tension counteracts the interruption of communication between growth factor receptors and proteins and triggers the activation of growth signaling pathways.
Leckband said: “This study confirms that calcitonin uses force to turn on biochemical growth signals. By confirming the damage caused by these forces, we may be able to find a way to mutate calcium adhesion molecules to prevent certain types of tissue growth, such as metastatic transformation and tumorigenesis. ”
Therefore, manipulating the so-called “molecular velcro” may propose a new way to solve cancer, but this method is still some distance from clinical use. So far, scientists have only demonstrated these effects in human epithelial tissue, and now they plan to build on these results and conduct similar experiments in in vitro human breast tissue.
The research was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.