Effect of Microenvironmental Mechanical Conditioning on Metastatic MCF7 Cells

Abstract

Metastatic complications remain the main factor of cancer mortality for breast cancer patients. The microenvironment surrounding a primary tumor heavily influences its metastatic potential, notably the stiffness of the extracellular matrix (ECM). Cancer cells sense and respond to the mechanical properties of the ECM through focal adhesions, in a process called mechanoconditioning. MCF7 cells, a luminal breast cancer line not given to movement, demonstrate isolated effects of such mechanoconditioning. Mechanoconditioning can increase MCF7 cells’ ability to mechanosense ECM of different stiffnesses, spread accordingly, move, and attach via focal adhesions, promoting pro-metastatic phenotypes. Through modeling primary cultures of varying stiffnesses, then replating MCF7 cells in an array of ECM of increasing stiffness, it was demonstrated that stiff 35kPa preconditioning increased the mechanosensitivity of MCF7 cells.