Invited Talk

Invasion and the extracellular matrix: from fibers to mechanotransduction

University of Graz, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, 8010 Graz, Austria

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Cancer progression and invasion is strongly influenced by cell behavior as well as the chemical and mechanical properties of the surrounding extracellular matrix. Vice versa, tumors and invading cells heavily impact their surrounding matrix. To unravel this close interplay between cell behavior and matrix, we have developed techniques that allow us to control the matrix properties on the one hand and mechanotransduction in the cell on the other hand. Using cancer spheroids embedded in a collagen matrix as model system, we apply our techniques to gain insight into the role of local mechanical properties of the matrix, such as fiber orientation, as well as the underlying intracellular mechanisms.