Passive nuclear transport deviates from Fickian behavior in prostate and breast cell types.

ABSTRACT: Nuclear trafficking is essential for cellular function and biomedical applications such as nucleus-targeted drug delivery; however, how passive nuclear transport varies across cell types and phenotypic states remains poorly understood. Here, we investigate passive nuclear transport of fluorescent molecular cargoes spanning 500-20,000 Da across multiple cell lines. We observe cell-line-specific nuclear restrictions and find that passive nuclear uptake does not exhibit a monotonic dependence on molecular weight, suggesting non-Fickian transport behavior. Furthermore, transforming a healthy breast cell model into an invasive-like phenotype via TGF-Beta treatment significantly altered passive nuclear transport characteristics, closely resembling those of a well-established invasive breast canc

SUBMITTER: Scott NR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12867411 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature