The mechanical microenvironment regulates ovarian cancer cell morphology, migration, and spheroid disaggregation.

ABSTRACT: There is growing appreciation of the importance of the mechanical properties of the tumor microenvironment on disease progression. However, the role of extracellular matrix (ECM) stiffness and cellular mechanotransduction in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is largely unknown. Here, we investigated the effect of substrate rigidity on various aspects of SKOV3 human EOC cell morphology and migration. Young's modulus values of normal mouse peritoneum, a principal target tissue for EOC metastasis, were determined by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and hydrogels were fabricated to mimic these values. We find that cell spreading, focal adhesion formation, myosin light chain phosphorylation, and cellular traction forces all increase on stiffer matrices. Substrate rigidity also positively regulates r

SUBMITTER: McKenzie AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5940803 | biostudies-literature | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature