Cell and tissue mechanics in tumor progression
Clinically, the feel, touch, and shape of a solid tumor are important diagnostic cues for assessing malignancy state of the tumor. Mechanistically, how tumor cell and tissue mechanics relate to their invasiveness and malignancy is not well established. In this talk, I will present my labs’ work on tumor cell/tissue mechanics and its relation to their subsequent invasion within a 3D extracellular matrix (ECM) using an integrated experiment and theoretical modeling approach. Our work revealed the importance of mechanical cross talks between the cells and their microenvironment in understanding the mechanics of living materials, and their relation to tumor cells’ exceptional ability to invade. Using theoretical modeling, we showed that, in addition to tumor stiffness, viscoelasticity is also important for diagnosing tumor malignant state. In parallel, I will present two technological tools developed in my lab, a 3D cell traction force microscopy to measure single cell/spheroid traction force, and a microfluidic rheometer for studies of tumor spheroid mechanics in a physiologically realistic setting.
Bio: Mingming Wu is a professor in the Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University. Her lab studies cell migration in response to biophysical and biochemical cues within its environment. An equally important thrust of the lab is to build microfluidic and imaging tools to facilitate these studies. Dr. Wu received her Ph.D. in physics from the Ohio State University, followed by a postdoctoral position at Ecole Polytechnique in Paris and University of California at Santa Barbara. She joined the Cornell Engineering faculty in 2003. Wu is an elected fellow of the American Physical Society.