Authors: Meng Wang, Yaowei Yang, Lichun Han, Shuang Han, Na Liu, Feng Xu, Fei Li

Journal: Biochemical and Biophysical Research CommunicationsChina (2021)

Institution: Xi’an Jiaotong University

Research Areas: Cancer research

Cell Lines: MDA-MB-231 (Human mammary carcinoma cell line)

Summary: The extracellular matrix (ECM) stiffness has a direct effect on cancer cell homeostasis (e.g., cell volume), which is critical for the regulation of their migration. In this work, M. Wang with colleagues have modified studied extracellular matrix with tunable stiffness to study how the 3D ECM stiffness and cell media osmosity influences cell volume and their migration. Authors have revealed that 3D ECM stiffness regulates cell migration behavior by regulating cell volume homeostasis. In this study, HoloMonitor M3 was used to study cell migration and volume changes.

Keywords: HoloMonitor M3, Cell morphology and cell movements, Mechanobiology, Mechanical microenvironment, Cancer metastasis, Cancer homeostasis