Substrate Stiffness Drives Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition and Proliferation through the NEAT1-Wnt/β-Catenin Pathway in Liver Cancer.

ABSTRACT: Extracellular matrix (ECM)-derived mechanical stimuli regulate many cellular processes and phenotypes through mechanotransduction signaling pathways. Substrate stiffness changes cell phenotypes and promotes angiogenesis, epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), and metastasis in tumors. Enhanced liver tissue matrix stiffness plays a crucial role in the tumorigenesis and malignant development of liver cancer and is associated with unfavorable survival outcomes. However, how liver cancer cells sense changes in ECM stiffness and the underlying molecular mechanisms are largely unknown. Seeding HepG2 cells on the micropillar gels, HepG2 cells were assessed for responsiveness to mechanotransduction using Western blot and immunofluorescence. We found that higher substrate stiffness dramaticall

SUBMITTER: Xu X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8584463 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature