ArticleNature physics2018
Physical biology of the cancer cell glycocalyx.
Article in Nature physics, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 100 papers.
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.
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.
Who cites it
100 citing papers in PubMed, 169 citations in OpenAlex.
- Biomaterial engineering of the tumor glycocalyx for cancer immunotherapy.Materials today. Bio · 2026Review
- Antibody-drug conjugate engineering: from design to efficacy and safety.Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 2026Review
- Review
- The microenvironment dictates glyco-immune surveillance via HSF1-mediated metabolism.Science advances · 2026Article
- Glycosite mapping and in situ mass spectrometry imaging of MUC2 glycopeptides via on-slide mucinase digestion.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Unravelling friction anisotropy by atomic force microscopy.Journal of microscopy · 2026Review
- Polymerization from Lipid Membranes.Biomacromolecules · 2026Article
- The protease cathepsin K can debulk the cancer glycocalyx.The Journal of biological chemistry · 2026Article
- MitoTex (Mitochondria Texture Analysis User Interface): Open-Source Framework for Textural Characterization and Classification of Mitochondrial Structures.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- GlycoRNA in cancer immune regulation and progression: biological mechanisms and translational therapeutic prospects.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Glycocalyx at the host-virus interface: a double-edged sword in virus infection and tissue damage.Frontiers in molecular biosciences · 2026Review
- Glycopolymers stabilize protein folding and protein-protein interactions via enthalpic interactions.Protein science : a publication of the Protein Society · 2026Article
- Glycan-encoded immune checkpoints and allorecognition: a mechanistic framework for transplantation and organ engineering.Frontiers in transplantation · 2026Review
- T cell decision-making decodes the dynamic antigenic landscape.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- SurFlex microscopy: Measuring flexibility of surface-tethered biomolecules.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- MUC15 Ectodomain Architecture Regulates Integrin Clustering to Control Cancer Metastasis.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025Article
- Article
- Ångström-resolution imaging of cell-surface glycans.Nature nanotechnology · 2025Article
- Structure, Mechanics, and Mechanobiology of Fibrocartilage Pericellular Matrix Mediated by Type V Collagen.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025Article
- Platforms for studying cell-cell recognition by immune cells.Immunology and cell biology · 2025Review
40 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The glycocalyx coating the outside of most cells is a polymer meshwork comprising proteins and complex sugar chains called glycans. From a physical perspective, the glycocalyx has long been considered a simple 'slime' that protects cells from mechanical disruption or against pathogen interactions, but the great complexity of the structure argues for the evolution of more advanced functionality: the glycocalyx serves as the complex physical environment within which cell-surface receptors reside and operate. Recent studies have demonstrated that the glycocalyx can exert thermodynamic and kinetic control over cell signalling by serving as the local medium within which receptors diffuse, assemble and function. The composition and structure of the glycocalyx change markedly with changes in cell state, including transformation. Notably, cancer-specific changes fuel the synthesis of monomeric building blocks and machinery for production of long-chain polymers that alter the physical and chemical structure of the glycocalyx. In this Review, we discuss these changes and their physical consequences on receptor function and emergent cell behaviours.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.