Abstract Cells respond to physical stimuli, such as stiffness 1 , fluid shear stress 2 and hydraulic pressure 3,4 . Extracellular fluid viscosity is a key physical cue that varies under physiological and pathological conditions, such as cancer 5 . However, its influence on cancer biology and the mechanism by which cells sense and respond to changes in viscosity are unknown. Here we demonstrate that elevated viscosity counterintuitively increases the motility of various cell types on two-dimensional surfaces and in confinement, and increases cell dissemination from three-dimensional tumour spheroids. Increased mechanical loading imposed by elevated viscosity induces an actin-related protein 2/3 (ARP2/3)-complex-dependent dense actin network, which enhances Na + /H + exchanger 1 (NHE1) polarization through its actin-binding partner ezrin. NHE1 promotes cell swelling and increased membrane tension, which, in turn, activates transient receptor potential cation vanilloid 4 (TRPV4) and mediates calcium influx, leading to increased RHOA-dependent cell contractility. The coordinated action of actin remodelling/dynamics, NHE1-mediated swelling and RHOA-based contractility facilitates enhanced motility at elevated viscosities. Breast cancer cells pre-exposed to elevated viscosity acquire TRPV4-dependent mechanical memory through transcriptional control of the Hippo pathway, leading to increased migration in zebrafish, extravasation in chick embryos and lung colonization in mice. Cumulatively, extracellular viscosity is a physical cue that regulates both short- and long-term cellular processes with pathophysiological relevance to cancer biology.
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I told you to stop: obscurin's role in epithelial cell migration
The giant cytoskeletal protein obscurin contains multiple cell signaling domains that influence cell migration. Here, we follow each of these pathways, examine how these pathways modulate epithelial cell migration, and discuss the cross-talk between these pathways. Specifically, obscurin uses its PH domain to inhibit phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K)-dependent migration and its RhoGEF domain to activate RhoA and slow cell migration. While obscurin's effect on the PI3K pathway agrees with the literature, obscurin's effect on the RhoA pathway runs counter to most other RhoA effectors, whose activation tends to lead to enhanced motility. Obscurin also phosphorylates cadherins, and this may also influence cell motility. When taken together, obscurin's ability to modulate three independent cell migration pathways is likely why obscurin knockout cells experience enhanced epithelial to mesenchymal transition, and why obscurin is a frequently mutated gene in several types of cancer.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2024182
- PAR ID:
- 10623689
- Publisher / Repository:
- Portland Press
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Biochemical Society Transactions
- Volume:
- 52
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 0300-5127
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1947 to 1956
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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