ArticleImmunity2021
Cytotoxic lymphocytes target characteristic biophysical vulnerabilities in cancer.
Article in Immunity, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 85 papers.
What it found
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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.
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.
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Who cites it
85 citing papers in PubMed, 110 citations in OpenAlex.
- Actin conformation dynamics precede force generation in cytotoxic T lymphocytes.Communications biology · 2026Article
- Cofilin1-driven cytoskeletal remodeling modulates pan-cancer CD8Cell reports. Medicine · 2026Article
- Plasma membrane order maps functional diversity in immune cells.Nature chemical biology · 2026Article
- LIM and SH3 protein 1 deficiency confers resistance to cytotoxic lymphocyte-mediated lysis and immunotherapy in gastric cancer by disrupting cytoskeleton dynamics.Journal for immunotherapy of cancer · 2026Article
- Turning resistance into therapeutic vulnerability: Mechano-reprogramming in cancer.Mechanobiology in medicine · 2026Article
- Environmentally induced cell stiffening shapes metastatic site selection by tuning the immune vulnerability of cancer cells.Immunity · 2026Article
- P95-HER2 promotes metastatic progression by biasing MRTFA dependent signaling.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Identifying and reprogramming softness-driven cancer stem-like cells overcomes CAR-T cell resistance in solid tumours.Nature biomedical engineering · 2026Article
- Ionic regulation of cancer cell stiffness and metastatic colonization via the MRTFA-KCNMB1 axis.Developmental cell · 2026Article
- Article
- Transformative biomechanics and mechanobiology breakthroughs shaping the future of health and medicine.Innovation (Cambridge (Mass.)) · 2026Review
- Cell viscosity influences haematogenous dissemination and metastatic extravasation of tumour cells.Nature materials · 2026Article
- Engineering macrophages for cancer immunotherapy: emerging insights and therapeutic potential.npj biomedical innovations · 2026Review
- Targeting organelle function in T cells for cancer immunotherapy.Nature reviews. Immunology · 2026Review
- Mechanical communication and function regulation of immune cells.Fundamental research · 2026Review
- Targeting metabolic reprogramming to enhance adoptive immunotherapy: emerging mechanisms and translational perspectives.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Review
- Mechanical mechanics-reclaiming a new battlefield for chronic liver disease.Journal of advanced research · 2026Review
- Ionic Regulation of Mechanosurveillance and Metastasis via the MRTFA/KCNMB1 Axis.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- TGFβ induces an atypical EMT to evade immune mechanosurveillance in lung adenocarcinoma dormant metastasis.Nature cancer · 2026Article
- Mechanical properties of the tumor microenvironment: drivers of immunotherapy resistance in solid tumors.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
25 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
15 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Immune cells identify and destroy tumors by recognizing cellular traits indicative of oncogenic transformation. In this study, we found that myocardin-related transcription factors (MRTFs), which promote migration and metastatic invasion, also sensitize cancer cells to the immune system. Melanoma and breast cancer cells with high MRTF expression were selectively eliminated by cytotoxic lymphocytes in mouse models of metastasis. This immunosurveillance phenotype was further enhanced by treatment with immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) antibodies. We also observed that high MRTF signaling in human melanoma is associated with ICB efficacy in patients. Using biophysical and functional assays, we showed that MRTF overexpression rigidified the filamentous actin cytoskeleton and that this mechanical change rendered mouse and human cancer cells more vulnerable to cytotoxic T lymphocytes and natural killer cells. Collectively, these results suggest that immunosurveillance has a mechanical dimension, which we call mechanosurveillance, that is particularly relevant for the targeting of metastatic disease.
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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.