Little is known about the complex interplay between the extracellular mechanical environment and the mechanical properties that characterize the dynamic intracellular environment. To elucidate this relationship in cancer, we probe the intracellular environment using particle-tracking microrheology. In three-dimensional (3D) matrices, intracellular effective creep compliance of prostate cancer cells is shown to increase with increasing extracellular matrix (ECM) stiffness, whereas modulating ECM stiffness does not significantly affect the intracellular mechanical state when cells are attached to two-dimensional (2D) matrices. Switching from 2D to 3D matrices induces an order-of-magnitude shift in intracellular effective creep compliance and apparent elastic modulus. However, for a given matrix stiffness, partial blocking of beta1 integrins mitigates the shift in intracellular mechanical state that is invoked by switching from a 2D to 3D matrix architecture. This finding suggests that the increased cell-matrix engagement inherent to a 3D matrix architecture may contribute to differences observed in viscoelastic properties between cells attached to 2D matrices and cells embedded within 3D matrices. In total, our observations show that ECM stiffness and architecture can strongly influence the intracellular mechanical state of cancer cells.

While significant advances have been made toward revealing the molecular mechanisms that influence breast cancer progression, much less is known about the associated cellular mechanical properties. To this end, we use particle-tracking microrheology to investigate the interplay among intracellular mechanics, three-dimensional matrix stiffness, and transforming potential in a mammary epithelial cell (MEC) cancer progression series. We use a well-characterized model system where human-derived MCF10A MECs overexpress either ErbB2, 14-3-3ζ, or both ErbB2 and 14-3-3ζ, with empty vector as a control. Our results show that MECs possessing ErbB2 transforming potential stiffen in response to elevated matrix stiffness, whereas non-transformed MECs or those overexpressing only 14-3-3ζ do no exhibit this response. We further observe that overexpression of ErbB2 alone is associated with the highest degree of intracellular sensitivity to matrix stiffness, and that the effect of transforming potential on intracellular stiffness is matrix-stiffness-dependent. Moreover, our intracellular stiffness measurements parallel cell migration behavior that has been previously reported for these MEC sublines. Given the current knowledge base of breast cancer mechanobiology, these findings suggest that there may be a positive relationship among intracellular stiffness sensitivity, cell motility, and perturbed mechanotransduction in breast cancer.

BACKGROUND African‐American men have a greater incidence of and mortality from prostate carcinoma compared with white men, and they are less likely to receive definitive therapy (radical prostatectomy or external beam radiation therapy). During the 1990s, the use of brachytherapy increased; however, its influence on racial and ethnic prostate carcinoma treatment trends remains unclear. The objective of this study was to describe treatment trends over the period 1992–1999 for localized/regional prostate carcinoma among white, Hispanic, and African‐American men. METHODS Using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) registry data from 1992 through 1999, logistic regression models were used to determine whether the odds of receiving a specific treatment modality differed by racial and ethnic group and whether the differences changed over time when the models were adjusted for age, marital status, tumor grade, and SEER site (geography). RESULTS The authors identified 142,340 men, including white men (81.6%), Hispanic men (6.4%), and African‐American men (12.0%). Racial and ethnic differences in the rates of use of androgen‐deprivation therapy/expectant management were noted; however, these differences appeared to lessen over time (P < 0.001). The rate of utilization of radical prostatectomy increased for Hispanic men, remained flat for African‐American men, and decreased for white men. The utilization of brachytherapy and combination therapy increased for all three groups; however, the greatest increase in utilization was among white men. CONCLUSIONS Further research will be required to determine the patient‐level and provider‐level variables that influence racial and ethnic treatment differences in localized/regional prostate cancer. Cancer 2005. © 2005 American Cancer Society.

The integrin lies at the center of our efforts to understand mechanotransduction in the human body. Over the past two decades, a wealth of information has yielded important insights into integrin structure and functioning in biochemical pathways; however, relatively little emphasis has been placed on mechanics. In this article, we review the current knowledge base of integrin mechanobiology by examining the role of integrins in stabilizing tissue structure, the mechanisms of integrin force transfer, the process of cell migration, and the pathology of cancer. In order to successfully address the gaps in cancer and other disease research going forward, future efforts of integrin mechanobiology must focus on examining cells in 3D environments and integrating our current understanding into computational models that predict the behavior of integrins in non-equilibrium interactions.

Significant progress has been achieved toward elucidating the molecular mechanisms that underlie breast cancer progression; yet, much less is known about the associated cellular biophysical traits. To this end, we use time-lapsed confocal microscopy to investigate the interplay among cell motility, three-dimensional (3D) matrix stiffness, matrix architecture, and transforming potential in a mammary epithelial cell (MEC) cancer progression series. We use a well characterized breast cancer progression model where human-derived MCF10A MECs overexpress either ErbB2, 14-3-3ζ, or both ErbB2 and 14-3-3ζ, with empty vector as a control. Cell motility assays showed that MECs overexpressing ErbB2 alone exhibited notably high migration speeds when cultured atop two-dimensional (2D) matrices, while overexpression of 14-3-3ζ alone most suppressed migration atop 2D matrices (as compared to non-transformed MECs). Our results also suggest that co-overexpression of the 14-3-3ζ and ErbB2 proteins facilitates cell migratory capacity in 3D matrices, as reflected in cell migration speed. Additionally, 3D matrices of sufficient stiffness can significantly hinder the migratory ability of partially transformed cells, but increased 3D matrix stiffness has a lesser effect on the aggressive migratory behavior exhibited by fully transformed cells that co-overexpress both ErbB2 and 14-3-3ζ. Finally, this study shows that for MECs possessing partial or full transforming potential, those overexpressing ErbB2 alone show the greatest sensitivity of cell migration speed to matrix architecture, while those overexpressing 14-3-3ζ alone exhibit the least sensitivity to matrix architecture. Given the current knowledge of breast cancer mechanobiology, these findings overall suggest that cell motility is governed by a complex interplay between matrix mechanics and transforming potential.