Collective forces of tumor spheroids in three-dimensional biopolymer networks

• Published in: eLife Vol. 9
• Main Authors: Mark, Christoph, Grundy, Thomas J, Strissel, Pamela L, Böhringer, David, Grummel, Nadine, Gerum, Richard, Steinwachs, Julian, Hack, Carolin C, Beckmann, Matthias W, Eckstein, Markus, Strick, Reiner, O'Neill, Geraldine M, Fabry, Ben
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England eLife Sciences Publications Ltd 30.04.2020; eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
• Subjects: biopolymer gels; Biopolymers; Breast cancer; Breast Neoplasms - metabolism; Breast Neoplasms - pathology; Cancer Biology; Cell Culture Techniques; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Shape; Cell size; Collagen; Collagen - chemistry; Collagen - metabolism; collective force generation; Computer Simulation; Contractility; Deformation; Experiments; Extracellular matrix; Female; Gels; Glioblastoma - metabolism; Glioblastoma - pathology; Humans; Mechanotransduction, Cellular; Microscopy; Microscopy, Video; Models, Biological; multicellular aggregates; Physics of Living Systems; Polymerization; Protein Conformation; Spheroids; Spheroids, Cellular; Stress, Mechanical; Time-Lapse Imaging; Tools and Resources; traction force microscopy; Tumor Cells, Cultured; tumor spheroids; tumoroids; collective force generation; biopolymer gels; multicellular aggregates; cancer biology; traction force microscopy; human; physics of living systems; tumor spheroids; tumoroids

We describe a method for quantifying the contractile forces that tumor spheroids collectively exert on highly nonlinear three-dimensional collagen networks. While three-dimensional traction force microscopy for single cells in a nonlinear matrix is computationally complex due to the variable cell sh...