Journal
NATURE MATERIALS
Volume 15, Issue 8, Pages 856-+Publisher
NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
DOI: 10.1038/NMAT4610
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Funding
- American Cancer Society Illinois Division Grant [281225]
- National Science Foundation Grant [1454616 CAR]
- Morris Animal Foundation
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Within the heterogeneous architecture of tumour tissue there exists an elusive population of stem-like cells that are implicated in both recurrence and metastasis(1,2). Here, by using engineered extracellular matrices, we show that geometric features at the perimeter of tumour tissue will prime a population of cells with a stem-cell-like phenotype. These cells show characteristics of cancer stem cells in vitro, as well as enhanced tumorigenicity in murine models of primary tumour growth and pulmonary metastases. We also show that interfacial geometry modulates cell shape, adhesion through integrin alpha(5)beta(1), MAPK and STAT activity, and initiation of pluripotency signalling. Our results for several human cancer cell lines suggest that interfacial geometry triggers a general mechanism for the regulation of cancer-cell state. Similar to how a growing tumour can co-opt normal soluble signalling pathways(3), our findings demonstrate how cancer can also exploit geometry to orchestrate oncogenesis.
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