ArticleScientific reports2018
The mechanical microenvironment regulates ovarian cancer cell morphology, migration, and spheroid disaggregation.
Article in Scientific reports, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 116 papers.
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Who cites it
116 citing papers in PubMed, 183 citations in OpenAlex.
- Stiff matrix impairs cytotoxic T lymphocyte function at multiple levels.Science advances · 2026Article
- RHOV Is a Detachment-Responsive Rho GTPase Necessary for Ovarian Cancer Peritoneal Metastasis.Cancer research · 2026Article
- Beyond the chaos: How architecture structures tumour biology.The FEBS journal · 2026Review
- Cell Mechanics in Cancer: Integrating Mechanotransduction Pathways Within the Tumor Microenvironment.Journal of cellular physiology · 2026Review
- The physical properties of ascitic fluid enhance metastatic potential by inducing mitotic abnormalities and multinucleation in ovarian cancer.BMC cancer · 2026Article
- TheMaterials today. Bio · 2026Review
- Metformin-A Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Drug-And Ovarian Cancer: Anticancer Mechanisms and Therapeutic Implications.Biomolecules · 2026Review
- Models of high-grade serous carcinoma of tubo-ovarian origin.Oncology reviews · 2026Review
- Looking at endometriosis-diagnosis and disease mechanisms through a mechanical lens.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Review
- Piperine protects ovarian follicles and stromal cells against doxorubicin-induced adverse effects in mouse ovaries.JBRA assisted reproduction · 2026Article
- Emerin acts as a mechanosensor linking force transmission and disease.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Review
- The role of extracellular matrix stiffness in regulating fibroblast behaviors and disease progression.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Stiffness-mediated paracrine signaling enhances induction of EMT in oral squamous cell carcinoma.APL bioengineering · 2025Article
- The Duality of Collagens in Metastases of Solid Tumors.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Dynamic rigidity changes enable rapid cell migration on soft substrates.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Bioengineering facets of the tumor microenvironment in 3D tumor models: insights into cellular, biophysical and biochemical interactions.FEBS open bio · 2025Review
- Biophysical, cellular, and mouse model approaches to investigate the mechanical regulation of folliculogenesis.Seminars in cell & developmental biology · 2025Review
- Three-dimensional spheroid models for cardiovascular biology and pathology.Mechanobiology in medicine · 2025Review
- Enhanced Unidirectional Cell Migration Induced by Asymmetrical Micropatterns with Nanostructures.Journal of functional biomaterials · 2025Article
- Mechanical cues guide the formation and patterning of 3D spheroids in fibrous environments.PNAS nexus · 2025Article
56 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
There is growing appreciation of the importance of the mechanical properties of the tumor microenvironment on disease progression. However, the role of extracellular matrix (ECM) stiffness and cellular mechanotransduction in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is largely unknown. Here, we investigated the effect of substrate rigidity on various aspects of SKOV3 human EOC cell morphology and migration. Young's modulus values of normal mouse peritoneum, a principal target tissue for EOC metastasis, were determined by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and hydrogels were fabricated to mimic these values. We find that cell spreading, focal adhesion formation, myosin light chain phosphorylation, and cellular traction forces all increase on stiffer matrices. Substrate rigidity also positively regulates random cell migration and, importantly, directional increases in matrix tension promote SKOV3 cell durotaxis. Matrix rigidity also promotes nuclear translocation of YAP1, an oncogenic transcription factor associated with aggressive metastatic EOC. Furthermore, disaggregation of multicellular EOC spheroids, a behavior associated with dissemination and metastasis, is enhanced by matrix stiffness through a mechanotransduction pathway involving ROCK, actomyosin contractility, and FAK. Finally, this pattern of mechanosensitivity is maintained in highly metastatic SKOV3ip.1 cells. These results establish that the mechanical properties of the tumor microenvironment may play a role in EOC metastasis.
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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.