Cell Mechanics and Protein Mobility during Neoplastic Transformation

这项资助的主要研究目标是促进对细胞在从正常状态到转移状态的肿瘤转化的不同阶段过程中不同物理和机械性质的基本理解。由于最近的报告表明，不同癌细胞的这些特性如何变化存在明显的模糊性，研究人员计划测量单个细胞的这些特性，并确定这些变化是否因不同的细胞成分而异：即物理特性的变化是由于细胞骨架、细胞膜、细胞质或这些元素的组合的变化。使用物理学和细胞生物学的广泛技术进行的测量将应用于不同的细胞结构。此外，研究人员将创建一个生物物理计算机模型，将所有测量结果结合在一起，以解释在肿瘤转化的每一种状态下观察到的物理性质的变化。这项工作将有助于建立和传播新的方案和技术，以确定癌细胞和非癌症细胞之间的物理性质差异。一个由物理学家和生物学家组成的团队将培训研究生和本科生在这个高度跨学科的领域工作。将通过与北卡罗来纳大学和温斯顿-塞勒姆州立大学的MARC U*STAR项目的联系，特别重视少数民族的教育。

The primary research objective of this grant is to advance the fundamental understanding of the different physical and mechanical properties of cells as they advance through different stages of neoplastic transformation from normal to the metastatic state. Since recent reports indicate there is significant ambiguity about how these properties change for different cancer cells, the investigators plan to measure these properties for a single line of cells, and to determine whether the changes vary for different cellular components: i.e. whether the change in physical properties is due to a change in the cytoskeleton, the cell membrane, the cytoplasm, or a combination of these elements. Measurements using a wide array of techniques from physics and cellular biology will be applied to the different cellular structures. In addition, the investigators will create a biophysical computer model that brings together all measurements to account for the observed variations in physical properties at each state of neoplastic transformation.This work will help to establish and disseminate new protocols and techniques for determining the differences in physical properties between cancerous and noncancerous cells. A team of physicists and biologists will train graduate and undergraduate students to work in this highly interdisciplinary field. Particular emphasis will be given to the education of minorities, through the connections to the MARC U* STAR programs of NC A&T University and Winston-Salem State University.