Nano Biomechanics Lab

Single cell & molecular biomechanics of human diseases

Studying cancer from a biomechanics perspective

Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide affecting more than 11 million people, and causing about 7 million deaths every year. The World Health Organization has estimated that there will be 15 million new cases of cancer each year by 2020.

Cancer develops when cells acquired the ability to divide uncontrollably, which arises due to mutations occurring in the genes which were responsible for cell growth and repair. These cancerous cells then infiltrate and destroy surrounding normal body tissue. One pathophysiological outcome of cancer is that the affected cells are more deformable than non-malignant cells. Another outcome is the capacity of malignant cancer cells to inﬁltrate, invade or metastasize to distant sites. Currently, there is very little understanding on how changes in the biomechanical properties of cancer cells can contribute to cancer metastasis, the major cause of death through cancer. We want to study the biomechanical properties of breast and colorectal cancer cells and the mechanics of tumour cell migration so as to better elucidate the detailed mechanisms involved in the metastasis of cancer cells. These include the abnormal receptor-mediated adhesion of cancer cells to the extracellular matrix, intravasation of cancer cells into circulation, rheology of the tumour cell emboli in microcirculation, and adhesion to and extravasation at distant sites. Speciﬁc and effective therapies can then be developed to target these migratory cancer cells or disrupt the metastatic process.

These studies will lead to possible new methods of early detection, diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

Schematic diagram depicting the various steps in the metastatic process (Lee GYH & Lim CT, Trends Biotechnol., 2007).

References

Lim CT, Zhou EH, Li A, Vedula SRK , Fu HX , Experimental techniques for single cell and single molecule biomechanics, Materials Science and Engineering C: Biomimetic and Supramolecular Systems, 26, 8, 1278-1288, 2006 .
Lee GYH, Lim CT, Biomechanics approaches to studying human diseases, Trends in Biotechnology, 25, 3, 111-118, 2007.
Lee GYH, Lim CT, Nanotechnology and human diseases, COSMOS, 3, 1, 89-101, 2007.

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