Mechanics and actomyosin-dependent survival and chemoresistance of suspended tumor cells in shear flow (Biophysical Journal)

Tumor cells disseminate to distant organs mainly through blood circulation, in which they experience considerable levels of fluid shear stress. However, the effects of hemodynamic shear stress on biophysical properties and functions of circulating tumor cells in suspension are not fully understood. In this study, we found that the majority of suspended breast tumor cells could be eliminated by fluid shear stress, while cancer stem cells held survival advantages over conventional cancer cells. Compared to untreated cells, tumor cells surviving shear stress exhibited unique biophysical properties: cell adhesion was significantly retarded; these cells exhibited elongated morphology and enhanced spreading and expressed genes related to epithelial-mesenchymal transition or hybrid phenotype; surviving tumor cells showed reduced F-actin assembly and stiffness.