Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 13, 2026
09:43
Isolation, Culture, and Characterization of Prostate Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts
Published on: August 1, 2025
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Single-Cell Morphomechanics of Prostate Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts Identifies Distinct Features Associated with
Antje Garside1, Angela Jacobi1, Shivakumar Keerthikumar2,3,4
1Center for Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering (CMCB), BIOTEC, Dresden University of Technology (TUD), 01307, Dresden, Germany.
Advanced Science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany)
|January 8, 2026
Summary
Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) exhibit distinct cellular changes, becoming larger and stiffer. These morphomechanical properties correlate with patient outcomes and offer potential therapeutic targets within the tumor microenvironment (TME).
Area of Science:
- Biophysics
- Cancer Biology
- Cellular Mechanics
Background:
- Tumor progression alters the tumor microenvironment (TME) biomechanics.
- Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) contribute to tissue stiffening through extracellular matrix remodeling.
- Cellular-level physical changes in CAFs and their clinical relevance remain largely unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate distinct morphological and biomechanical features of CAFs compared to normal fibroblasts.
- To determine the association between these cellular features and patient outcomes in prostate cancer.
- To explore the impact of cancer treatments on fibroblast morphomechanics.
Main Methods:
- Quantitative image analysis of confocal microscopy images for morphological assessment.
- Real-time deformability cytometry and atomic force microscopy for single-cell mechanical measurements.
- Transcriptomic analysis to correlate morphomechanical scores with cellular phenotypes and pathways.
Main Results:
- CAFs display more aligned stress fibers and larger, elongated nuclei than non-malignant prostate fibroblasts (NPFs).
- CAFs are significantly larger and stiffer than NPFs, consistent across patients.
- A combined morphomechanical score strongly associates with patient outcome and correlates with microtubule dynamics and myofibroblast markers.
- Approved prostate cancer treatments, including docetaxel and FGFR inhibitors, modify fibroblast morphomechanical properties.
Conclusions:
- Cellular morphomechanical alterations are a consistent characteristic of CAFs in prostate cancer.
- These morphomechanical features are linked to patient prognosis.
- Targeting cellular morphomechanics presents a novel therapeutic strategy for cancer treatment by modulating the TME.
