ArticleMolecular biology of the cell2020
Direct evidence that tumor cells soften when navigating confined spaces.
Article in Molecular biology of the cell, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 78 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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Who cites it
78 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Changes in Tissue Fluidity Predict Tumor Aggressiveness In Vivo.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2023Pooled it
- Development and Characterization of a FRET-based Formin Tension Sensor in Living Cells.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Effect of two-dimensional spatial confinement on platelet mechanics.Biophysical reports · 2026Article
- Cells Dynamically Adapt Their Nuclear Volumes and Proliferation Rates During Single to Multicellular Transitions.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- A customizable, low-cost 3D-printed device for live cell confinement imaging.Lab on a chip · 2026Article
- Effects of Intracellular Force Localization on Cancer Cell Invasion: Revealing Mechanical Trade-offs through Experimentally Validated Computational Models.ACS biomaterials science & engineering · 2026Article
- Nuclear Mechanics and Nuclear Mechanotransduction in Cancer Cell Migration and Invasion.Biomolecules · 2026Review
- From biting to engulfment: curvature-actin coupling controls phagocytosis of soft, deformable targets.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Mechano-stress endorsing heterogeneous lung cancer cells migration into confined channels and investigating tumor spheroids growth of confined space migrating cells.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- From biting to engulfment: curvature-actin coupling controls phagocytosis of soft, deformable targets.ArXiv · 2026Article
- Exploring the biomechanical complexity of glioblastoma spheroids and organoids with co-localized Brillouin and Raman microspectroscopy.Biochemistry and biophysics reports · 2025Article
- Target cell cortical tension regulates macrophage trogocytosis.Nature cell biology · 2025Article
- Fuel, form, and memory: The motility-driven journey of cancer cells.Current opinion in biomedical engineering · 2025Article
- Review
- Added value of multifrequency magnetic resonance elastography in predicting pathological grading of pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms.Insights into imaging · 2025Article
- Ultrasound-induced mechanical damage of cancer cell cytoskeleton causes disruption of nuclear envelope and activation of cGAS-STING.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Spatial Segregation Across Travelling Fronts in Individual-Based and Continuum Models for the Growth of Heterogeneous Cell Populations.Bulletin of mathematical biology · 2025Article
- Review
- MIML: multiplex image machine learning for high precision cell classification via mechanical traits within microfluidic systems.Microsystems & nanoengineering · 2025Article
- Linking Metastatic Potential and Viscoelastic Properties of Breast Cancer Spheroids via Dynamic Compression and Relaxation in Microfluidics.Advanced healthcare materials · 2025Article
18 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The mechanical properties of cells strongly regulate many physiological and pathological processes. For example, in cancer, invasive and metastatic tumor cells have often been reported to be softer than nontumor cells, raising speculation that cancer cells might adaptively soften to facilitate migration through narrow tissue spaces. Despite growing interest in targeting cell softening to impede invasion and metastasis, it remains to be directly demonstrated that tumor cells soften as they migrate through confined spaces. Here, we address this open question by combining topographically patterned substrates with atomic force microscopy (AFM). Using a polydimethylsiloxane open-roof microdevice featuring tapered, fibronectin-coated channels, we followed the migration of U2OS cells through various stages of confinement while simultaneously performing AFM indentation. As cells progress from unconfined migration to fully confined migration, cells soften and exclude Yes-associated protein from the nucleus. Superresolution imaging reveals that confinement induces remodeling of actomyosin stress fiber architecture. Companion studies with flat one-dimensional microlines indicate that the changes in cytoarchitecture and mechanics are intrinsically driven by topographical confinement rather than changes in cellular aspect ratio. Our studies represent among the most direct evidence to date that tumor cells soften during confined migration and support cell softening as a mechanoadaptive mechanism during invasion.
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Registered trials
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.