Substrate stiffness-dependent activation of Hippo pathway in cancer associated fibroblasts

The tumor microenvironment (TME) comprises a heterogenous cell population within a complex three-dimensional (3D) extracellular matrix (ECM). Stromal cells within this TME are altered by signaling cues from cancer cells to support uncontrolled tumor growth and invasion events. Moreover, the ECM also plays a fundamental role in tumor development through pathological remodeling, stiffening and interaction with TME cells. In healthy tissues, Hippo signaling pathway actively contributes to tissue growth, cell proliferation and apoptosis. However, in cancer, the Hippo signaling pathway is highly dysregulated, leading to nuclear translocation of the YAP/TAZ complex, which directly contributes to uncontrolled cell proliferation and tissue growth, and ECM remodeling and stiffening processes. Here, we compare the effect of increasing cell culture substrate stiffness, derived from tumor progression, upon the dysregulation of the Hippo signaling pathway in colorectal cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and normal colorectal fibroblasts (NFs). We correlate the dysregulation of Hippo pathway with the magnitude of the traction forces exerted by healthy and malignant stromal cells. We found that ECM stiffening is crucial in Hippo pathway dysregulation in CAFs, but not in normal fibroblasts.