Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, Rice University, Houston, TX 77030.
Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, TX 77030.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2017 Aug 22;114(34):8974-8979. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1707210114. Epub 2017 Aug 7.
Long-range alignment ordering of fibroblasts have been observed in the vicinity of cancerous tumors and can be recapitulated with in vitro experiments. However, the mechanisms driving their ordering are not understood. Here, we show that local collision-driven nematic alignment interactions among fibroblasts are insufficient to explain observed long-range alignment. One possibility is that there exists another orientation field coevolving with the cells and reinforcing their alignment. We propose that this field reflects the mechanical cross-talk between the fibroblasts and the underlying fibrous material on which they move. We show that this long-range interaction can give rise to high nematic order and to the observed patterning of the cancer microenvironment.
在癌肿瘤附近已经观察到成纤维细胞的长程排列顺序，并且可以通过体外实验再现。然而，驱动其排序的机制尚不清楚。在这里，我们表明，成纤维细胞之间的局部碰撞驱动的向列排列相互作用不足以解释观察到的长程排列。一种可能性是，存在另一个与细胞共进化并增强其排列的取向场。我们提出，该场反映了成纤维细胞与其移动的基础纤维材料之间的力学串扰。我们表明，这种长程相互作用可以导致高向列序和观察到的癌症微环境的图案化。
