ArticleNature communications2023
Cancer-associated fibroblasts actively compress cancer cells and modulate mechanotransduction.
Article in Nature communications, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 93 papers.
What it found
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Who cites it
93 citing papers in PubMed, 124 citations in OpenAlex.
- Decoding intervertebral disc degeneration pathomechanics: from mechanisms to therapeutic horizons.Journal of advanced research · 2026Review
- Targeting cancer-associated fibroblasts: therapeutic strategies, translational challenges, and future perspectives.Journal of hematology & oncology · 2026Review
- Mechanical load as an endogenous tumor suppressor: Nesprin-2-mediated mechanotransduction reshapes the cancer epigenome.Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 2026Article
- Biomarker-Driven Strategies for Stromal Reprogramming in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma.Cells · 2026Review
- Dynamic control of cell state transitions during tissue morphogenesis.The EMBO journal · 2026Review
- Rapid normal fibroblast-tumor crosstalk promotes cancer-associated fibroblast-like activation and attenuates mitomycin C cytotoxicity in bladder cancer.Journal of cell communication and signaling · 2026Article
- Mechanics of compression-driven morphogenesis.Development (Cambridge, England) · 2026Review
- Mechanobiology of Matricellular Proteins in Bladder Cancer: A Narrative Review and Bioinformatics Analysis.Biomolecules · 2026Review
- Fibronectin matrix remodelling modulates the active nematic dynamics of cancer-associated fibroblasts.Nature materials · 2026Article
- Revealing biomechanical vulnerabilities in oral cancer cells using 3D coculture platform and low-frequency ultrasound.Materials today. Bio · 2026Article
- Invasion dynamics of multifocal breast tumor spheroids in three-dimensional extracellular matrix.Biophysical journal · 2026Article
- The extracellular matrix in cancer-associated fibrosis: molecular mechanisms and clinical relevance.JCI insight · 2026Review
- Patient therapy outcome modeling in cancer organoids is improved by cancer-associated fibroblasts and organoid assembly convolution.Molecular oncology · 2026Article
- The lethal symbiont: exploring the pathophysiology of cancer.Physiological reviews · 2026Review
- Multidrug resistance in cancer: current understandings and future perspective.Molecular biomedicine · 2026Review
- Fibronectin 1 mediates pressure-induced aggressive phenotypes in colorectal cancer cells and cancer stem cells.Cancer cell international · 2026Article
- Cell Mechanics in Cancer: Integrating Mechanotransduction Pathways Within the Tumor Microenvironment.Journal of cellular physiology · 2026Review
- Biomarker exploration for immunotherapy plus chemotherapy following resistance to third-generation EGFR-TKIs in lung adenocarcinoma.BMC cancer · 2026Article
- Targeting phase separation: a new strategy to disrupt the stromal-immune axis in colorectal cancer.Cell communication and signaling : CCS · 2026Review
- Transcriptomic deconvolution reveals prognostic immune signatures and immunotherapy-responsive subtypes in male breast cancer.Breast cancer research : BCR · 2026Article
33 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
During tumor progression, cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) accumulate in tumors and produce an excessive extracellular matrix (ECM), forming a capsule that enwraps cancer cells. This capsule acts as a barrier that restricts tumor growth leading to the buildup of intratumoral pressure. Combining genetic and physical manipulations in vivo with microfabrication and force measurements in vitro, we found that the CAFs capsule is not a passive barrier but instead actively compresses cancer cells using actomyosin contractility. Abrogation of CAFs contractility in vivo leads to the dissipation of compressive forces and impairment of capsule formation. By mapping CAF force patterns in 3D, we show that compression is a CAF-intrinsic property independent of cancer cell growth. Supracellular coordination of CAFs is achieved through fibronectin cables that serve as scaffolds allowing force transmission. Cancer cells mechanosense CAF compression, resulting in an altered localization of the transcriptional regulator YAP and a decrease in proliferation. Our study unveils that the contractile capsule actively compresses cancer cells, modulates their mechanical signaling, and reorganizes tumor morphology.
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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.