TY  - EJOU
AU  - Liang, Chenyu 
AU  - Zeng, Bo 
AU  - Tanaka, Mai 
AU  - Noy, Andrea Kannita 
AU  - Barrett, Matthew 
AU  - Hengartner, Erica 
AU  - Cochrane, Abygale 
AU  - Garzon, Laura 
AU  - Litvinov, Mitchell 
AU  - Siemann, Dietmar 
AU  - Tang, Xin 

TI  - Mechano-Regulated Intercellular Waves Among Cancer Cells
T2  - The International Conference on Computational \& Experimental Engineering and Sciences

PY  - 2024
VL  - 32
IS  - 1
SN  - 1933-2815

AB  - Cancer accounts for 12.6% of all human deaths worldwide and 90% of cancer-related deaths are due to metastasis: the dissemination of invasive tumor cells from the primary tumors to other vital organs [1-3]. However, how these invasive tumor cells coordinate with each other to achieve the dissemination remains unclear. Recently we discovered that human tumor cells can initiate and transmit previously unknown long-distance (~100s m) intercellular biochemical waves in a microenvironment-mechanics-regulated manner. [4-5] In this presentation, we will present our new results on (1) the 2D/3D spatial-temporal characterization of the long-distance and the intra-/inter-cellular Ca<sup>2+</sup> signals; (2) the functional influences of mechanical microenvironment on the spatial-temporal properties of Ca<sup>2+</sup> dynamics (i.e., signaling symphony); and (3) the molecular mechanisms and biological consequences of the Ca<sup>2+</sup> dynamics during tumor progression and metastasis in vivo. To our knowledge, this study is the 1st report that shows the detailed characterization and mechanistic dissection of long-distance Ca<sup>2+</sup> waves in human cancer cells [4-5]. Our results advance the understanding of the mechano-regulated functions/mechanisms of Ca<sup>2+</sup> signals in human cancer and potentially contribute to the development of new therapies for tumor suppression.
KW  - Biomechanics; cancer; mechanical microenvironment; Ca<sup>2+</sup> waves; functional imaging

DO  - 10.32604/icces.2024.011126