Evidence map›Paper›PMID 24726433›Full record

ArticleCell2014

Water permeation drives tumor cell migration in confined microenvironments.

Kimberly M Stroka, Hongyuan Jiang, Shih-Hsun Chen, Ziqiu Tong, Denis Wirtz, Sean X Sun, Konstantinos Konstantopoulos

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Cell, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 295 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
295citing papers in PubMed
18.1field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

295 citing papers in PubMed, 553 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026
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  18. Regulation of epithelial tissue homeostasis by active transepithelial transport.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
  19. Chemical compensation to mechanical loss in cell mechanosensation.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
  20. Article

235 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.

Kimberly M StrokaJohns Hopkins Institute for NanoBioTechnology, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Johns Hopkins Physical Sciences-Oncology Center, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
Hongyuan JiangDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; CAS Key Laboratory of Mechanical Behavior and Design of Materials, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, PRC.
Shih-Hsun ChenDepartment of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
Ziqiu TongJohns Hopkins Institute for NanoBioTechnology, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Johns Hopkins Physical Sciences-Oncology Center, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
Denis WirtzJohns Hopkins Institute for NanoBioTechnology, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Johns Hopkins Physical Sciences-Oncology Center, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
Sean X SunJohns Hopkins Institute for NanoBioTechnology, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Johns Hopkins Physical Sciences-Oncology Center, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA. Electronic address: ssun@jhu.edu.
Konstantinos KonstantopoulosJohns Hopkins Institute for NanoBioTechnology, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Johns Hopkins Physical Sciences-Oncology Center, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA. Electronic address: konstant@jhu.edu.
Johns Hopkins University · US

Funding

TRANS NETWORK PROJECTSU54CA143868 · NCI · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI MCCAFFERY, J. MICHAEL · 2009 to 2013
$13.7M
Single-cell phenotyping for therapeutic stratification in pancreatic cancerR01CA174388 · NCI · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI WIRTZ, DENIS · 2012 to 2016
$3.8M
Bacterial Division and the Dynamics of the Z-ringR01GM075305 · NIGMS · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI SUN, SEAN X · 2005 to 2014
$2.9M
T-32 NIH Postdoctoral Training Program in Nanotechnology for Cancer Medicine NTCMT32CA130840 · NCI · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI WIRTZ, DENIS · 2008 to 2012
$1.2M
Role of the physical microenvironment in tumor cell migration and the cell cycleF32CA177756 · NCI · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI STROKA, KIMBERLY · 2013 to 2014
$93k
NCI NIH HHS F32 CA177756NCI NIH HHS F32-CA177756NCI NIH HHS R01 CA174388NCI NIH HHS R01CA174388NCI NIH HHS T32 CA130840NCI NIH HHS T32-CA130840NCI NIH HHS U54 CA143868NCI NIH HHS U54-CA143868NIGMS NIH HHS R01 GM075305NIGMS NIH HHS R01GM075305
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Cell migration is a critical process for diverse (patho)physiological phenomena. Intriguingly, cell migration through physically confined spaces can persist even when typical hallmarks of 2D planar migration, such as actin polymerization and myosin II-mediated contractility, are inhibited. Here, we present an integrated experimental and theoretical approach ("Osmotic Engine Model") and demonstrate that directed water permeation is a major mechanism of cell migration in confined microenvironments. Using microfluidic and imaging techniques along with mathematical modeling, we show that tumor cells confined in a narrow channel establish a polarized distribution of Na+/H+ pumps and aquaporins in the cell membrane, which creates a net inflow of water and ions at the cell leading edge and a net outflow of water and ions at the trailing edge, leading to net cell displacement. Collectively, this study presents an alternate mechanism of cell migration in confinement that depends on cell-volume regulation via water permeation.

Indexed as

Cell MovementModels, BiologicalWaterActinsAnimalsAquaporin 5Cell Line, TumorCell MembraneCell SizeHumansMiceSodium-Hydrogen ExchangersActinsAquaporin 5Sodium-Hydrogen ExchangersWater

Identifiers

PMID24726433
PMCPMC4365996
OpenAlexW2102554836

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.