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1. Abstract 1315: Biophysics of polyploidal cancer cells in an aging stroma

   https://doi.org/10.1158/1538-7445  

   Dawson, Michelle ; Xuan, Botai ; Ghosh, Deepraj ( April 2018 , Cancer research)

   Senescence is a potent tumor-suppressive mechanism that irreversibly arrests the growth of damaged cells. However, senescent cells that accumulate in tissues eventually develop a senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) that alters the microenvironment to promote cancer. Paracrine factors in the SASP may also contribute to the formation of rare giant polyploidal cancer cells (GPCCs). A single-cell mechanical approach was used to profile cytoskeletal and nuclear mechanics, morphology, motility, and adhesion for breast cancer cells treated with conditioned media from senescent fibroblasts. Our study showed that a small but significant population of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells (less than 5%) treated with conditioned media from senescent LF-1 fibroblasts develop an enlarged morphology, chromosomal instability, and polyploidy, a phenotype associated with GPCCs. Although GPCCs are highly invasive and chemoresistant, little is known about their biophysical properties. First, we developed a method for identifying the small subpopulation of GPCCs in a heterogeneous population of cancer cells based on increased nuclear area and confirmed that GPCCs are more resistant to paclitaxel than normal-size MDA-MB-231 cells (NCCs). We then compared critical biophysical properties of NCCs and GPCCs, including cytoskeletal and nuclear mechanics, cell and nuclear morphology, motility, and adhesion. Cells were stained for cytoskeletal proteins actin, tubulin, and vinculin. Cytoskeletal organization was dramatically altered in GPCCs compared to NCCs. GPCCs displayed more disorganized microtubule structure, dense actin stress fibers, and mature focal adhesions. Intracellular particle tracking microrheology was used to measure cytoskeletal and nuclear mechanics. These studies demonstrated that although GPCCs are thought to be highly invasive cancer cells, they are inherently stiffer than NCCs, in terms of both their cytoskeletal and nuclear mechanics. This was surprising since more invasive cancer cells are often more compliant than less invasive cancer cells. This result may be in part to the ability for GPCCs to behave like activated stromal cells that stiffen in the tumor; we confirmed that GPCCs display similar adhesive behavior as activated stromal cells. To determine how mechanics correlates with cell migration, we used time-lapse nuclear tracking to measure cell motility. The average cell speed was higher for NCCs than for GPCCs; however, GPCCs moved longer distances over time because their motion was more directional. These findings highlight the unusual biophysical behavior of GPCCs. To develop pharmacologic tools that target GPCCs, it is imperative to understand their biophysical properties. 

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2. Biophysical Phenotyping and Modulation of ALDH+ Inflammatory Breast Cancer Stem‐Like Cells

   https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.201802891  

   Chen, Weiqiang ; Allen, Steven G. ; Qian, Weiyi ; Peng, Zifeng ; Han, Shuo ; Li, Xiang ; Sun, Yubing ; Fournier, Chelsea ; Bao, Liwei ; Lam, Raymond H. W. ; et al ( January 2019 , Small)

   Cancer stem‐like cells (CSCs) have been shown to initiate tumorigenesis and cancer metastasis in many cancer types. Although identification of CSCs through specific marker expression helps define the CSC compartment, it does not directly provide information on how or why this cancer cell subpopulation is more metastatic or tumorigenic. In this study, the functional and biophysical characteristics of aggressive and lethal inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) CSCs at the single‐cell level are comprehensively profiled using multiple microengineered tools. Distinct functional (cell migration, growth, adhesion, invasion and self‐renewal) and biophysical (cell deformability, adhesion strength and contractility) properties of ALDH+ SUM149 IBC CSCs are found as compared to their ALDH− non‐CSC counterpart, providing biophysical insights into why CSCs has an enhanced propensity to metastasize. It is further shown that the cellular biophysical phenotype can predict and determine IBC cells' tumorigenic ability. SUM149 and SUM159 IBC cells selected and modulated through biophysical attributes—adhesion and stiffness—show characteristics of CSCs in vitro and enhance tumorigenicity in in vivo murine models of primary tumor growth. Overall, the multiparametric cellular biophysical phenotyping and modulation of IBC CSCs yields a new understanding of IBC's metastatic properties and how they might develop and be targeted for therapeutic interventions.

    

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3. Fluid shear stress stimulates breast cancer cells to display invasive and chemoresistant phenotypes while upregulating PLAU in a 3D bioreactor

   https://doi.org/10.1002/bit.27119  

   Novak, Caymen M. ; Horst, Eric N. ; Taylor, Charles C. ; Liu, Catherine Z. ; Mehta, Geeta ( August 2019 , Biotechnology and Bioengineering)

   Breast cancer cells experience a range of shear stresses in the tumor microenvironment (TME). However most current in vitro three‐dimensional (3D) models fail to systematically probe the effects of this biophysical stimuli on cancer cell metastasis, proliferation, and chemoresistance. To investigate the roles of shear stress within the mammary and lung pleural effusion TME, a bioreactor capable of applying shear stress to cells within a 3D extracellular matrix was designed and characterized. Breast cancer cells were encapsulated within an interpenetrating network hydrogel and subjected to shear stress of 5.4 dynes cm⁻²for 72 hr. Finite element modeling assessed shear stress profiles within the bioreactor. Cells exposed to shear stress had significantly higher cellular area and significantly lower circularity, indicating a motile phenotype. Stimulated cells were more proliferative than static controls and showed higher rates of chemoresistance to the anti‐neoplastic drug paclitaxel. Fluid shear stress‐induced significant upregulation of thePLAUgene and elevated urokinase activity was confirmed through zymography and activity assay. Overall, these results indicate that pulsatile shear stress promotes breast cancer cell proliferation, invasive potential, chemoresistance, and PLAU signaling.

    

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4. Cellular Senescence Alters Tumor Microenvironment Interactions Forcing Cancer Progression

   Dawson, Michelle ; Ghosh, Deepraj ( July 2018 , Gordon Research Conference: Signal Transduction by Engineered Extracellular Matrices)

   Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) that accumulate in the primary tumor due to their natural tropism for inflammatory tissues enhance the metastatic potential of tumor cells through direct interactions with tumor cells or paracrine signaling within the tumor microenvironment. MSCs also undergo senescence, which leads to increased production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and matrix-degrading enzymes. Senescence is a critical mechanism of limiting abnormal growth and cancer development through tumor suppression; however, senescent cells that accumulate in tissues eventually develop a senescence-associated secretory phenotype that alters the microenvironment to promote cancer. Increased understanding of the biophysical properties of senescent MSCs and how they mediate cell-cell interactions in the tumor may be useful in identifying novel biomarkers for senescent stromal cells in tissues or aggressive cancer cells that form in an aging stroma. A high-content single cell biophysical approach was used to define the mechanical properties of pre- and post- senescent MSCs. Our data shows post-senescent MSCs are larger and less motile, with more homogeneous mechanical properties than their pre-senescent counterparts. A robust molecular screening approach combining genome-wide microarray analysis with mass spec-based proteomics was used to establish the molecular differences in pre- and post- senescent MSCs. Our data show a consistent correlation of up and down regulated gene and peptide expression. A 3D co-culture model was used to assess the effects of pre- and post- senescent MSCs on breast cancer cell motility and invasion in 3D collagen gels. Post-senescent MSCs induced an invasive breast cancer cell phenotype, characterized by increased spreading of breast cancer cells in collagen, increased numbers of invading cells, and morphological elongation of breast cancer cells. Surprisingly, this invasive breast cancer cell behavior was further amplified when breast cancer cells were co-cultured with both pre- and post- senescent cells. 

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5. Rapid isolation of circulating cancer associated fibroblasts by acoustic microstreaming for assessing metastatic propensity of breast cancer patients

   https://doi.org/10.1039/d0lc00969e  

   Jiang, Ruoyu ; Agrawal, Sudhanshu ; Aghaamoo, Mohammad ; Parajuli, Ritesh ; Agrawal, Anshu ; Lee, Abraham P. ( January 2021 , Lab on a Chip)

   null (Ed.)

   We demonstrate a label free and high-throughput microbubble-based acoustic microstreaming technique to isolate rare circulating cells such as circulating cancer associated fibroblasts (cCAFs) in addition to circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and immune cells ( i.e. leukocytes) from clinically diagnosed patients with a capture efficiency of 94% while preserving cell functional integrity within 8 minutes. The microfluidic device is self-pumping and was optimized to increase flow rate and achieve near perfect capturing of rare cells enabled by having a trapping capacity above the acoustic vortex saturation concentration threshold. Our approach enables rapid isolation of CTCs, cCAFs and their associated clusters from blood samples of cancer patients at different stages. By examining the combined role of cCAFs and CTCs in early cancer onset and metastasis progression, the device accurately diagnoses both cancer and the metastatic propensity of breast cancer patients. This was confirmed by flow cytometry where we observed that metastatic breast cancer blood samples had significantly higher percentage of exhausted CD8 + T cells expressing programmed cell death protein 1 (PD1), higher number of CD4 + T regulatory cells and T helper cells. We show for the first time that our lateral cavity acoustic transducers (LCATs)-based approach can thus be developed into a metastatic propensity assay for clinical usage by elucidating cancer immunological responses and the complex relationships between CTCs and its companion tumor microenvironment. 

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