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Cell–Cell Mechanical Communication in Cancer

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Abstract

Communication between cancer cells enables cancer progression and metastasis. While cell–cell communication in cancer has primarily been examined through chemical mechanisms, recent evidence suggests that mechanical communication through cell–cell junctions and cell–ECM linkages is also an important mediator of cancer progression. Cancer and stromal cells remodel the ECM through a variety of mechanisms, including matrix degradation, cross-linking, deposition, and physical remodeling. Cancer cells sense these mechanical environmental changes through cell–matrix adhesion complexes and subsequently alter their tension between both neighboring cells and the surrounding matrix, thereby altering the force landscape within the microenvironment. This communication not only allows cancer cells to communicate with each other, but allows stromal cells to communicate with cancer cells through matrix remodeling. Here, we review the mechanisms of intercellular force transmission, the subsequent matrix remodeling, and the implications of this mechanical communication on cancer progression.

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Acknowledgment

This work was supported by awards from the NIH (Award Number HL127499) and NSF (1738345, 1740900) to C.A.R-K.

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No animal studies were carried out by the authors for this article.

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Samantha Schwager, Paul Taufalele, and Cynthia Reinhart-King have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

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  1. Samantha C. Schwager and Paul V. Taufalele contributed equally to this work.

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  1. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, PMB 351631, Nashville, TN, 37235, USA

    Samantha C. Schwager, Paul V. Taufalele & Cynthia A. Reinhart-King

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  1. Samantha C. Schwager
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Correspondence to Cynthia A. Reinhart-King.

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Associate Editor Kris Noel Dahl oversaw the review of this article.

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Schwager, S.C., Taufalele, P.V. & Reinhart-King, C.A. Cell–Cell Mechanical Communication in Cancer. Cel. Mol. Bioeng. 12, 1–14 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12195-018-00564-x

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