Spatial and temporal dynamics of RhoA activities of single breast tumor cells in a 3D environment revealed by a machine learning-assisted FRET technique.

ABSTRACT: One of the hallmarks of cancer cells is their exceptional ability to migrate within the extracellular matrix (ECM) for gaining access to the circulatory system, a critical step of cancer metastasis. RhoA, a small GTPase, is known to be a key molecular switch that toggles between actomyosin contractility and lamellipodial protrusion during cell migration. Current understanding of RhoA activity in cell migration has been largely derived from studies of cells plated on a two-dimensional (2D) substrate using a FRET biosensor. There has been increasing evidence that cells behave differently in a more physiologically relevant three-dimensional (3D) environment. However, studies of RhoA activities in 3D have been hindered by low signal-to-noise ratio in fluorescence imaging. In this paper, we pre

SUBMITTER: Cheung BCH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8714707 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature