Contractile forces in tumor cell migration.
Cancer is a deadly disease primarily because of the ability of tumor cells to spread from the primary tumor, to invade into the connective tissue, and to form metastases at distant sites. In contrast to cell migration on a planar surface where large cell tractions and contractile forces are not essential, tractions and forces are thought to be crucial for overcoming the resistance and steric hindrance of a dense three-dimensional connective tissue matrix. In this review, we describe recently developed biophysical tools, including 2-D and 3-D traction microscopy to measure contractile forces of cells. We discuss evidence indicating that tumor cell invasiveness is associated with increased contractile force generation.
Mierke
Claudia Tanja
CT
Department of Physics, Center for Medical Physics and Technology, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany.
Rösel
Daniel
D
Fabry
Ben
B
Brábek
Jan
J
D000818:Animals; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D003238:Connective Tissue / Q000378:metabolism; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D018715:Microscopy, Video; D008954:Models, Biological; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology