Senescent stroma induces nuclear deformations in cancer cells via the inhibition of RhoA/ROCK/myosin II-based cytoskeletal tension.

The presence of senescent cells within tissues has been functionally linked to malignant transformations. Here, using tension-gauge tethers technology, particle-tracking microrheology, and quantitative microscopy, we demonstrate that senescent-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) derived from senescent fibroblasts impose nuclear lobulations and volume shrinkage on malignant cells, which stems from the loss of RhoA/ROCK/myosin II-based cortical tension. This loss in cytoskeletal tension induces decreased cellular contractility, adhesion, and increased mechanical compliance.

EB1 and cytoplasmic dynein mediate protrusion dynamics for efficient 3-dimensional cell migration.

Microtubules have long been implicated to play an integral role in metastatic disease, for which a critical step is the local invasion of tumor cells into the 3-dimensional (3D) collagen-rich stromal matrix. Here we show that cell migration of human cancer cells uses the dynamic formation of highly branched protrusions that are composed of a microtubule core surrounded by cortical actin, a cytoskeletal organization that is absent in cells on 2-dimensional (2D) substrates. Microtubule plus-end tracking protein End-binding 1 and motor protein dynein subunits light intermediate chain 2 and heavy chain 1, which do not regulate 2D migration, critically modulate 3D migration by affecting RhoA and thus regulate protrusion branching through differential assembly dynamics of microtubules.

Biophysical and biomolecular determination of cellular age in humans.

Ageing research has focused either on assessing organ- and tissue-based changes, such as lung capacity and cardiac function, or on changes at the molecular scale such as gene expression, epigenetic modifications and metabolism. Here, by using a cohort of 32 samples of primary dermal fibroblasts collected from individuals between 2 and 96 years of age, we show that the degradation of functional cellular biophysical features-including cell mechanics, traction strength, morphology and migratory potential-and associated descriptors of cellular heterogeneity predict cellular age with higher accuracy than conventional biomolecular markers. We also demonstrate the use of high-throughput single-cell technologies, together with a deterministic model based on cellular features, to compute the cellular age of apparently healthy males and females, and to explore these relationships in cells from individuals with Werner syndrome and Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome, two rare genetic conditions that result in phenotypes that show aspects of premature ageing.

The Mechanobiology of Aging.

Aging is a complex, multifaceted process that induces a myriad of physiological changes over an extended period of time. Aging is accompanied by major biochemical and biomechanical changes at macroscopic and microscopic length scales that affect not only tissues and organs but also cells and subcellular organelles. These changes include transcriptional and epigenetic modifications; changes in energy production within mitochondria; and alterations in the overall mechanics of cells, their nuclei, and their surrounding extracellular matrix.

Senescent stromal cells induce cancer cell migration via inhibition of RhoA/ROCK/myosin-based cell contractility.

Cells induced into senescence exhibit a marked increase in the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines termed senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). Here we report that SASP from senescent stromal fibroblasts promote spontaneous morphological changes accompanied by an aggressive migratory behavior in originally non-motile human breast cancer cells. This phenotypic switch is coordinated, in space and time, by a dramatic reorganization of the actin and microtubule filament networks, a discrete polarization of EB1 comets, and an unconventional front-to-back inversion of nucleus-MTOC polarity.

Normal mammary epithelial cells promote carcinoma basement membrane invasion by inducing microtubule-rich protrusions.

Recent work suggests that the dissemination of tumor cells may occur in parallel with, and even preceed, tumor growth. The mechanism for this early invasion is largely unknown. Here, we find that mammary epithelial cells (MECs) induce neighboring breast carcinoma cells (BCCs) to cross the basement membrane by secreting soluble laminin.

Age-dependent stochastic models for understanding population fluctuations in continuously cultured cells.

For symmetrically dividing cells, large variations in the cell cycle time are typical, even among clonal cells. The consequence of this variation is important in stem cell differentiation, tissue and organ size control, and cancer development, where cell division rates ultimately determine the cell population. We explore the connection between cell cycle time variation and population-level fluctuations using simple stochastic models.