Rheological transition driven by matrix makes cancer spheroids resilient under confinement.

ABSTRACT: Cancer metastasis through confining peritoneal microenvironments is mediated by spheroids: clusters of disseminated cells. Ovarian cancer spheroids are frequently cavitated; such blastuloid morphologies possess an outer ECM coat. We investigated the effects of these spheroidal morphological traits on their mechanical integrity. Atomic force microscopy showed blastuloids were elastic compared with their prefiguring lumenless moruloid counterparts. Moruloids flowed through microfluidic setups mimicking peritoneal confinement, exhibited asymmetric cell flows during entry, were frequently disintegrated, and showed an incomplete and slow shape recovery upon exit. In contrast, blastuloids exhibited size-uncorrelated transit kinetics, rapid and efficient shape recovery upon exit, symmetric cell f

SUBMITTER: Dutt T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11949850 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature