Sefora Conti, Valeria Venturini, Adrià Cañellas-Socias, Carme Cortina, Juan F Abenza, Camille Stephan-Otto Attolini, Emily Middendorp Guerra, Catherine K Xu, Jia Hui Li, Leone Rossetti, Giorgio Stassi, Pere Roca-Cusachs, Alba Diz-Muñoz, Verena Ruprecht, Jochen Guck, Eduard Batlle, Anna Labernadie, Xavier Trepat
Colorectal cancer (CRC) tumors are composed of heterogeneous and plastic cell populations, including a pool of cancer stem cells that express LGR5. Whether these distinct cell populations display different mechanical properties, and how these properties might contribute to metastasis is poorly understood. Using CRC patient derived organoids (PDOs), we find that compared to LGR5- cells, LGR5+ cancer stem cells are stiffer, adhere better to the extracellular matrix (ECM), move slower both as single cells and clusters, display higher nuclear YAP, show a higher survival rate in response to mechanical confinement, and form larger transendothelial gaps...
April 18, 2024: Nature Communications