Local overgrowths in tissues, such as the tumours that occur in
cancer, can cause tissue deformations and change behaviour in
neighbouring cells, say scientists from Cancer Research UK's London
Research Institute (now part of the Francis Crick
Institute).
Their work has implications for cancer treatment. The team
suggests that cancer therapies of the future might include
manipulating the microenvironment of tumours to reduce cancer cell
growth and spread.
Nic Tapon explained: "The control of normal organ growth is
highly complex but highly important. When this control fails, it
causes overgrowths or tumours in tissues, organ malfunctions and,
frequently, cancer.
"It's well known that the cells that make up our bodies
communicate by sending each other chemical signals, but it is
becoming increasingly clear that mechanical forces, such as
stretching and compression, can also act as a means of cell-cell
communication."
The researchers used the wing of the fruit fly as a model to
study growth control because it has many similarities to what
happens in humans.
Sophisticated microscopy techniques allowed them to take images
of the growth of the wing tissue. They measured the forces the wing
cells experience as they grow by using lasers to cut tiny portions
of tissue. The team then built a computer model of a fruit fly wing
- a virtual wing - that allowed them to evaluate different ideas
before testing them experimentally.
Dr Tapon concluded: "In this study we showed that that patches
of tissues that grow faster than their neighbours can exert forces
that stretch the neighbouring cells and alter their growth
patterns. This suggests that local overgrowths in tissues, such as
in cancer, can cause tissue deformations and change cell behaviour
away from the actual source of overgrowth.
He added: "There is increasing evidence that cancer cells can
manipulate their physical environment, sometimes even enlisting the
help of their healthy neighbours to do this. If we can understand
this process we may find new therapeutic avenues to treat
cancer."
The paper, Differential proliferation rates generate patterns of mechanical
tension that orient tissue growth, is published in The
EMBO Journal.