Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 24, 2025
10:24
Preparation of 3D Collagen Gels and Microchannels for the Study of 3D Interactions In Vivo
Published on: May 9, 2016
17.1K
Collagen architecture and signaling orchestrate cancer development
1Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Liver Cancer Institute, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Trends in Cancer
|July 3, 2023
Summary
Tumor microenvironment (TME) research reveals collagens are key nutrient sources and signaling molecules. Understanding collagen
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Biochemistry
- Cancer Biology
Background:
- The tumor microenvironment (TME) is crucial for cancer progression.
- Collagens are abundant proteins within the TME, influencing its structure and function.
- Emerging evidence highlights collagens' roles beyond structural support, including nutrient provision and signaling.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the role of collagen in cancer cell metabolism via macropinocytosis.
- To explore how collagen remodeling and trimer heterogeneity impact tumor bioenergetics, growth, and treatment response.
Main Methods:
- Literature review focusing on macropinocytosis-dependent collagen uptake.
- Analysis of studies investigating collagen's influence on tumor growth and therapeutic outcomes.
- Synthesis of current knowledge on collagen's multifaceted roles in the TME.
Main Results:
- Collagens provide essential nutrients to cancer cells through macropinocytosis.
- Collagen fiber remodeling and trimer variations significantly affect tumor bioenergetics and progression.
- These collagen-mediated processes influence the tumor's response to therapy.
Conclusions:
- Shifting cancer treatment to be TME-centric, particularly focusing on collagens, is essential.
- Understanding collagen's metabolic and signaling functions offers new therapeutic strategies.
- Targeting collagen dynamics in the TME could revolutionize cancer treatment approaches.
Related Concept Videos
02:17The Tumor Microenvironment
6.7K
Every normal cell or tissue is embedded in a complex local environment called stroma, consisting of different cell types, a basal membrane, and blood vessels. As normal cells mutate and develop into cancer cells, their local environment also changes to allow cancer progression. The tumor microenvironment (TME) consists of a complex cellular matrix of stromal cells and the developing tumor. The cross-talk between cancer cells and surrounding stromal cells is critical to disrupt normal tissue...
6.7K
01:19Interactions Between Signaling Pathways
6.3K
Signaling cascades usually lack linearity. Multiple pathways interact and regulate one another, allowing cells to integrate and respond to diverse environmental stimuli.
Convergence and divergence, and cross-talk between signaling pathways
Two distinct signaling pathways can converge on a single functional unit, which may either be a single protein or a complex of proteins. The response is either functionally distinct or synergistic between the two pathways but different from the response...
Convergence and divergence, and cross-talk between signaling pathways
Two distinct signaling pathways can converge on a single functional unit, which may either be a single protein or a complex of proteins. The response is either functionally distinct or synergistic between the two pathways but different from the response...
6.3K
01:26Extracellular Matrix
3.0K
Unlike epithelial tissue, which is composed of cells closely packed with little or no extracellular space in between, connective tissue cells are dispersed in a matrix. This extracellular matrix (ECM) is composed of fibrous proteins like collagen, elastin, and fibronectin in a ground substance consisting of interstitial fluid, cell adhesion proteins, and proteoglycans. The proteoglycans form a gel-like material in the spaces between cells and provide hydration, buffering, binding, and force...
3.0K
03:03mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression
3.8K
The mammalian target of rapamycin or mTOR protein was discovered in 1994 due to its direct interaction with rapamycin. The protein gets its name from a yeast homolog called TOR. The mTOR protein complex in mammalian cells plays a major role in balancing anabolic processes such as the synthesis of proteins, lipids, and nucleotides and catabolic processes, such as autophagy in response to environmental cues, such as availability of nutrients and growth factors.
The mTOR pathway or the...
The mTOR pathway or the...
3.8K
01:13Collagens are the Major Structural Proteins of ECM
4.3K
Three main types of fibers are secreted by fibroblasts: collagen fibers, elastic fibers, and reticular fibers. Collagen fiber is made from fibrous protein subunits linked together to form a long, straight fiber. Collagen fibers, while flexible, have great tensile strength, resist stretching, and give ligaments and tendons their characteristic resilience and strength. These fibers hold connective tissues together, even during the body's movement.
Connective tissue proper includes loose...
Connective tissue proper includes loose...
4.3K
02:53Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells
5.8K
Cancer cells accumulate genetic changes at an abnormally rapid rate due to the defects in the DNA repair mechanisms. From an evolutionary perspective, such genetic instability is advantageous for cancer development. Mutant cell lines accumulate a series of beneficial mutations that contribute to their progression into cancer.
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...
5.8K