Defining the mechano-chemical signals controlling cancer cell invasion

癌症转移是通过细胞亚群从原发肿瘤向周围间质和血流的侵袭而开始的。肿瘤微环境的组织，包括基质的机械特性，已知影响侵袭的方式和动力学，但控制这一过程的机制仍不清楚。这个项目将结合先进的显微镜、生物物理学和计算分析来定义驱动肿瘤细胞入侵到三维基质中的精确局部机械力化学信号线索。这项研究产生的数据将为侵袭细胞的信号规范提供新的见解，并可能揭示防止转移的新方法。

Cancer metastasis initiates through invasion of subsets of cells away from the primary tumour into the surrounding stroma and towards the blood stream. The organisation of tumour microenvironment, including the mechanical properties of the matrix, is known to influence the mode and dynamics of invasion but the mechanisms governing this remain poorly defined. This project will combine advanced microscopy, biophysics and computational analysis to define the precise local mechano-chemical signalling cues that drive tumour cell invasion into 3-dimensional matrices. Data arising from the study will provide novel insight into the signalling specification of invasive cells and potentially reveal new ways to prevent metastasis.