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Updated: Feb 23, 2026

Isolation of Primary Human Colon Tumor Cells from Surgical Tissues and Culturing Them Directly on Soft Elastic Substrates for Traction Cytometry
Published on: June 4, 2015
Are Tumor Cell Lineages Solely Shaped by Mechanical Forces?
Mathieu Leroy-Lerêtre1,2, Giacomo Dimarco3, Martine Cazales2
1Institut de Mathématiques de Toulouse, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, Toulouse, France.
Abstract:
This paper investigates cell proliferation dynamics in small tumor cell aggregates using an individual-based model (IBM). The simulation model is designed to study the morphology of the cell population and of the cell lineages as well as the impact of the orientation of the division plane on this morphology. Our IBM model is based on the hypothesis that cells are incompressible objects that grow in size and divide once a threshold size is reached, and that newly born cell adhere to the existing cell cluster. We performed comparisons between the simulation model and experimental data by using several statistical indicators. The results suggest that the emergence of particular morphologies can be explained by simple mechanical interactions.
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