Too cunning!

Cancer cell metastasis can lead to cancer recurrence, which is also an important cause of death in cancer patients

But where do we start to interfere with the metastasis of cancer cells? Recently, the research of "Science Reports" has shown a new direction.

In the course of billions of years of evolution, cells have learned to migrate in different ways.

However, cancer cells are the players who really use cell migration to the extreme.

According to the new study, researchers at Oregon State University used a computer vision artificial intelligence to track changes in the shape of cells during migration

When encountering some difficult-to-invade tissues, cancer cells will choose to sacrifice part of their migration speed and turn themselves into a more aggressive mode to achieve the purpose of invading new territories

▲Cancer cells can take on different shapes under different conditions (picture source: reference [2])

In the process of traversing numerous obstacles, the biggest obstacle that cancer cells encounter is the extracellular matrix (ECM), which can provide biomechanical force and also involve many biochemical processes.

In the experiment, the researchers designed ECMs with completely different mechanical forces and placed cancer cells in them.

▲ Changing the shape is an important strategy for cancer cell metastasis and invasion (picture source: reference [2], Credit: Oregon State University)

In fact, diversified cell shapes play an important role in maintaining normal physiological functions.

Studies have pointed out that errors in normal cell morphology will affect cell function, but cancer cells seem to be better at doing the opposite, invading into different tissues with abnormal shapes

According to the analysis of MDA-MB-231, their deformation process will be controlled by the Rho/ROCK signaling pathway, which is originally responsible for regulating the mechanical state of the cell, including the contractility of actin and the polymerization of actin.

Note: The original text has been deleted

Reference materials:

[1] Cancer cells change shape, how theymove to invade different types of tissue, research shows.

[2] Christopher Z.