Durotaxis is a driver and potential therapeutic target in lung fibrosis and metastatic pancreatic cancer.

ABSTRACT: Durotaxis, cell migration along stiffness gradients, is linked to embryonic development, tissue repair and disease. Despite solid in vitro evidence, its role in vivo remains largely speculative. Here we demonstrate that durotaxis actively drives disease progression in vivo in mouse models of lung fibrosis and metastatic pancreatic cancer. In lung fibrosis, durotaxis directs fibroblast recruitment to sites of injury, where they undergo mechano-activation into scar-forming myofibroblasts. In pancreatic cancer, stiffening of the tumour microenvironment induces durotaxis of cancer cells, promoting metastatic dissemination. Mechanistically, durotaxis is mediated by focal adhesion kinase (FAK)-paxillin interaction, a mechanosensory module that links stiffness cues to transcriptional programmes v

SUBMITTER: Al-Hilal TA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12431851 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature