Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41450974›Full record

ReviewMechanobiology in medicine2026

Mechano-regulation of cancer cell memory in tumor progression and therapy.

Yunjia Qu, Jiaxin Cui, Zhuohang Wu, Peixiang He, Fan Wei, Tianze Guo, Yixuan Huang, Xi Yu, Mishel Tsoy, Kunshu Liu and 4 more

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Mechanobiology in medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. The Dynamic Alliance of p53 and Metabolism in the Tumor Microenvironment Shapes Tumor Evolution.BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology · 2026
    Review
  3. Sono-Mechanogenetics: Linking Ultrasound Physics With Cellular Mechanobiology.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026
    Review
  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. Review
  7. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Yunjia QuThe Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering, Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Jiaxin CuiThe Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering, Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Zhuohang WuThe Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering, Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Peixiang HeThe Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering, Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Fan WeiThe Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering, Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Tianze GuoThe Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering, Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Yixuan HuangThe Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering, Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Xi YuThe Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering, Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Mishel TsoyThe Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering, Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Kunshu LiuThe Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering, Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Ziyue ZhuThe Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering, Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Yiming ZhangThe Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering, Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Yingxiao WangThe Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering, Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Longwei LiuThe Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering, Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Funding

Development of single fluorophore biosensors for multiplex imaging of CAR T SignalingK01EB035649 · NIBIB · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · PI Longwei Liu · 2024 to 2026
$455k
NIBIB NIH HHS K01 EB035649
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Cancer cell memory, the ability to retain responses to prior environmental stimuli, has emerged as a key driver of tumor progression, therapeutic resistance, and immune evasion. Mechanical cues within the tumor microenvironment (TME), including matrix stiffness, viscoelasticity, and compressive stress, are increasingly recognized as critical regulators of such memory. These biophysical inputs not only influence immediate cellular behavior but also induce long-lasting transcriptional, epigenetic, and phenotypic changes that sustain cancer cell aggressive traits. In this review, we specifically highlight mechanobiology in shaping cancer cell memory. We summarize how extracellular matrix (ECM) composition and remodeling encodes mechanical inputs into stable gene expression programs that promote tumor progression, and highlight how mechano-regulated plasticity, membrane tension, chromatin remodeling, and epigenetic changes govern self-renewal, differentiation, and drug and immune resistance, underscoring how physical suppression contributes to chemo-, radio-, and targeted therapies failure. We further discuss emerging mechano-targeted strategies, including ECM-degrading agents, sonogenetic engineered cells, and stiffness-responsive nanoparticles, that seek to rewire cancer cell memory and improve treatment outcomes.

Identifiers

PMID41450974
PMCPMC12731285

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.