It turned out that the cancer cells climbed into the tissue like "Octopus Brother"...

Mechanical interactions between human cells and their environment are critical for functions such as cell movement, communication, and sensing
.

Although the cells have no sense of sight or smell, they also have octopus-like tentacles on their surface, so their movement patterns are also very similar to octopuses
.

In a new study published today in Nature Communications, a research team from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark used "optical tweezers" to reveal the fundamental mechanism of all living cells: they use octopus-like "tentacles" to explore their surroundings and invade organization
.

The discovery will have implications for research in cancer, neurological diseases and many others
.

Cells are known to have no sense of sight or smell, but their surfaces are equipped with very thin filopodia, like entwined octopus tentacles
.

Filopodia are actin-rich structures present on the surface of eukaryotic cells
.

These structures play a key role by allowing cells to explore their environment, generate mechanical forces or perform chemical signaling
.

Their complex dynamics include changes in length and shape such as twisting, stretching,
etc.

These filopodia help cells move towards the bacteria, while it also acts as a sensory "antenna" that recognizes the bacteria as prey
.

In the new study, the researchers used a microscope to observe at the nanoscale immune cells propelling toward their target bacteria, a process that resembles a predator catching prey
.

After some exploration and exercise, the immune cells eventually "catch" the target bacteria and devour them
.

The filopodia move cells in a similar way to the response when stretching a rubber band
.

We know that a rubber band without deformation has no strength
.

But when twisted, the rubber shrinks
.

The same thing happens in the cell to help it change direction while keeping the filopodia flexible
.

Thus, in order to explore the whole space in the environment around the cell, filopodia can penetrate into all corners of the tissue in a twisted fashion
.

In conclusion, this study provides evidence for the twisting and rotating mechanisms observed in filopodia
.

Remarkably, this mechanism exists in a variety of different cell types, from naive stem cells to terminally differentiated cancer cells
.

Not only cancer cells have this ability, but all cells do, the researchers say
.

The finding is equally important for researchers studying embryonic stem cells and brain cells
.

Both types of cells are highly dependent on filopodia during development
.

Therefore, understanding how cells use their "tentacles" for movement will help scientists figure out ways to prevent cancer cells from invading adjacent tissues and spreading disease
.

"Clearly, cancer researchers are interested in our results," said Poul Martin Bendix, corresponding author of the study and head of the Laboratory for Experimental Biophysics at NBI, University of Copenhagen
.

Cancer cells are known for their high aggressiveness
.

We have reason to believe that, Cancer cells are particularly reliant on the function of filopodia to examine their surroundings and facilitate their own spread
.

So it is conceivable that by finding ways to inhibit cancer cell filopodia, cancer growth could be stopped
.

"Paper link: https://