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Probing the Biophysical Properties of Primary Breast Tumor-Derived Fibroblasts

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Abstract

As cancer progresses, cells must adapt to a new and stiffer environment, which can ultimately alter how normal cells within the tumor behave. In turn, these cells are known to further aid tumor progression. Therefore, there is potentially a unique avenue to better understand metastatic potential through single-cell biophysical assays performed on patient-derived cells. Here, we perform biophysical characterization of primary human fibroblastic cells obtained from mammary carcinoma and normal contralateral tissue. Through a series of tissue dissociation, differential centrifugation and trypsinization steps, we isolate an adherent fibroblastic population viable for biomechanical testing. 2D TFM and 3D migration measurements in a collagen matrix show that fibroblasts obtained from patient tumors generate more traction forces and display improved migration potential than their counterparts from normal tissue. Moreover, through the use of an embedded spheroid model, we confirmed the extracellular matrix remodeling behavior of primary cells isolated from carcinoma. Overall, correlating biophysical characterization of normal- and carcinoma-derived samples from individual patients along with patient outcome may become a powerful approach to further our comprehension of metastasis and ultimately design drug targets on a patient-specific basis.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Cornell Center on the Microenvironment & Metastasis through Award Number U54CA143876 from the National Cancer Institute, a National Science Foundation – National Institute of Health Physical and Engineering Sciences in Oncology (PESO) award (Award Number 1233827) and an NSF CAREER award to C. A. R. This work was also supported by National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships to S. P. C. and M. C. L.

Conflict of interest

T. A. A., F. B., S. P. C., M. C. L., D. R. K., S. S., S. V., S. J. S., and C. A. R declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical Standards

All experiments using samples from human subjects were carried out in accordance with Weill Cornell IRB guidelines. Human tissues were de-identified. No animals were used in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Cornell University, 302 Weill Hall, 526 Campus Rd, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA

    Turi A. Alcoser, Francois Bordeleau, Shawn P. Carey, Marsha C. Lampi, Sahana Somasegar & Cynthia A. Reinhart-King

  2. Department of Statistical Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA

    Daniel R. Kowal

  3. Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, The New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, 10065, USA

    Sonal Varma & Sandra J. Shin

Authors
  1. Turi A. Alcoser
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  2. Francois Bordeleau
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  9. Cynthia A. Reinhart-King
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Correspondence to Cynthia A. Reinhart-King.

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Associate Editor Cheng Dong oversaw the review of this article.

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Alcoser, T.A., Bordeleau, F., Carey, S.P. et al. Probing the Biophysical Properties of Primary Breast Tumor-Derived Fibroblasts. Cel. Mol. Bioeng. 8, 76–85 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12195-014-0360-9

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