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Poster #2
May the cell-generated forces be with you: Investigating tissue stress in breast cancer progression
Christina-Marie Boghdady1, Wontae Lee1, Richard Leask 1,2,3, Luke McCaffrey 3,4,5, and Christopher Moraes 1,3,6
1 Department of Chemical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal
2 Montreal Heart Institute, Université de Montréal, Montreal
3 Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Institute, McGill University, Montreal
4 Division of Experimental Medicine, McGill University, Montreal
5 Gerald Bronfman Department of Oncology, McGill University, Montreal
6 Department of Biological and Biomedical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal
Cells and tissues are dynamic constructs which exert and respond to applied forces during development and growth, where dysregulated forces resulting in loss of tissue structure and stability are key progression factors in diseases like cancer. Thus, we have developed cell-scale force measurement sensors to characterize internal and external stress during tumour growth and invasion. Encapsulated non-invasive tumours exhibited an abrupt yet temporary increase in internal stress, while external stress remained compressive. Contrastingly, invasive tumours lost significant internal stress upon dispersal, suggesting that such quantitative tools may benefit as more efficient prognostics for better patient treatment and outcome.