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A research study led by University of Minnesota engineers gives new method of how cancer cells move based on their ability to sense their environment.
The researchers discovered that cells have the ability to sense the stiffness of their environment and their ability to move is depend on their environment ranging from bone tissue to fatty tissue and muscle tissue.
Researchers compared cells from human brain cancer to mobile but normal cells from embryonic chick brains. They did five different experiments that included environments with six different stiffnesses.
The researchers slowed the cancer cells down in a petri dish in the lab by following the predictions of their computer models, which were based on an understanding the mechanics of the cancer cell movement.
Cells are like cars, they have motors that generate force, and a clutch to transfer that force to structures that grip the tissue along which they move. When the environment is good like a paved road, they can move into higher gear, with the engine spinning faster and the clutch transferring more force to the parts that, like wheels, get more grip.
They discovered that the combination of the two drugs they tested inhibit the motor and clutch functions of cancer cells and therefore hindered their movement.
