Stiff cellular environment links obesity to breast cancer

Malignant human cells grow more quickly on rigid material from fat mice

Fat cells in obese mice modify nearby proteins, creating a rigid environment that increases cancer cells’ ability to grow and spread, a new study finds.

When placed on stiff extracellular material taken from obese mice, human breast cancer cells and precancerous cells grew more rapidly, scientists report August 19 in Science Translational Medicine.

Previous studies have shown that obesity increases the risk of breast cancer and worsens a patient’s prognosis. But scientists don’t have a good understanding of the processes responsible for this link, says biomedical engineer Paolo Provenzano of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. “This study sheds considerable light on that mechanism,” he says. “It’s further proof of principle that engineering principles are important to our understanding of cancer, and it’s not just a biochemical or genetic disease.”

Few studies analyze how obesity changes a cell’s physical environment, says study coauthor Claudia Fischbach, a biomedical engineer at Cornell University.

While fat cells make tissue “floppy,” Fischbach says, the material in between fat cells is quite stiff. Cells can sense the resistance of their surroundings, she says, and alter their behavior when confronted with a more rigid environment.

Obese mice had a greater number of cells called myofibroblasts in their fat tissue, the scientists found. These cells remodel and stiffen their surroundings. But the study’s results suggest that this obesity-induced rigidity might be reversible; a low-calorie diet reduced the number of myofibroblasts in obese mice’s breast tissue.

Fischbach and colleagues observed similar differences in humans. Breast tissue was thicker and more fibrous in obese women than in their leaner counterparts, whether this tissue was cancerous or healthy.

Provenzano says the results suggest that it might be possible to reduce the risk or progression of cancer by softening a cell’s surroundings.

Use up and down arrow keys to explore.Use right arrow key to move into the list.Use left arrow key to move back to the parent list.Use tab key to enter the current list item.Use escape to exit the menu.Use the Shift key with the Tab key to tab back to the search input.
Logo

Looks like your ad blocker is on.

×

We rely on ads to keep creating quality content for you to enjoy for free.

Please support our site by disabling your ad blocker.

Continue without supporting us

Choose your Ad Blocker

  • Adblock Plus
  • Adblock
  • Adguard
  • Ad Remover
  • Brave
  • Ghostery
  • uBlock Origin
  • uBlock
  • UltraBlock
  • Other
  1. In the extension bar, click the AdBlock Plus icon
  2. Click the large blue toggle for this website
  3. Click refresh
  1. In the extension bar, click the AdBlock icon
  2. Under "Pause on this site" click "Always"
  1. In the extension bar, click on the Adguard icon
  2. Click on the large green toggle for this website
  1. In the extension bar, click on the Ad Remover icon
  2. Click "Disable on This Website"
  1. In the extension bar, click on the orange lion icon
  2. Click the toggle on the top right, shifting from "Up" to "Down"
  1. In the extension bar, click on the Ghostery icon
  2. Click the "Anti-Tracking" shield so it says "Off"
  3. Click the "Ad-Blocking" stop sign so it says "Off"
  4. Refresh the page
  1. In the extension bar, click on the uBlock Origin icon
  2. Click on the big, blue power button
  3. Refresh the page
  1. In the extension bar, click on the uBlock icon
  2. Click on the big, blue power button
  3. Refresh the page
  1. In the extension bar, click on the UltraBlock icon
  2. Check the "Disable UltraBlock" checkbox
  3. Marque la casilla de verificación "Desactivar UltraBlock"
  1. Please disable your Ad Blocker
  2. Disable any DNS blocking tools such as AdGuardDNS or NextDNS

If the prompt is still appearing, please disable any tools or services you are using that block internet ads (e.g. DNS Servers).