Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 21, 2025

Author Spotlight: Shear Assay Protocol for the Determination of Single-Cell Material Properties
Published on: May 19, 2023
Effects of biomechanical forces on the biological behavior of cancer stem cells
Bo Ren Tian1, Wei Fan Lin1, Yan Zhang1
1MOE Key Laboratory of Gene Function and Regulation, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510006, Guangdong, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
Cancer stem cells (CSCs), dynamic subsets of cancer cells, are responsible for malignant progression. The unique properties of CSCs, including self-renewal, differentiation, and malignancy, closely depend on the tumor microenvironment. Mechanical components in the microenvironment, including matrix stiffness, fluid shear stress, compression and tension stress, affect the fate of CSCs and further influence the cancer process. This paper reviews recent studies of mechanical components and CSCs, and further discusses the intrinsic correlation among them. Regulatory mechanisms of mechanical microenvironment, which act on CSCs, have great potential for clinical application and provide different perspectives to drugs and treatment design.
More Related Videos
05:49Modeling the Effects of Hemodynamic Stress on Circulating Tumor Cells using a Syringe and Needle
Published on: April 27, 2021
09:28Isolation 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
Related Concept Videos
Cancer Stem Cells and Tumor Maintenance
Cancer stem cells are thought to originate from tissue-specific normal stem cells or progenitor cells. The normal stem cells usually reside in...
Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...
Cell-matrix's Response to Mechanical Forces
Anchoring junctions mechanically attach a cell to the...
Metastasis
Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition
The epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition or EMT is a developmental process commonly observed in wound healing, embryogenesis, and cancer metastasis. EMT is induced by transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) or receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) ligands, which further...
The Tumor Microenvironment
Mesenchymal Stem Cells