Icon Legend

This session is not in your schedule.

This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.

Biomechanics

The Roles of Substrate Stiffness and Available Extracellular Matrix Proteins on the Behavior of Ovarian Cancer Cells

(C-115) The Roles of Substrate Stiffness and Available Extracellular Matrix Proteins on the Behavior of Ovarian Cancer Cells

Friday, October 13, 2023

3:30 PM – 4:30 PM PDT

Location: Exhibit Hall - Row C - Poster # 115

Presenting Author(s)

Rachel Callaghan (she/her/hers)

Undergraduate Student
Michigan Technological University, Michigan, United States

Primary Investigator(s)

PJ

Paul Janmey

Professor of Physiology
University of Pennsylvania, United States

Co-Author(s)

SX

Shi Xuechen

Post Doctoral Researcher
University of Pennsylvania, United States

Introduction:: Ovarian cancer currently stands as the deadliest gynecological cancer in the world, with approximately 19,710 diagnoses, and 13,270 deaths yearly in the United States alone [1]. This high mortality rate can often be attributed to the fact that by the time the disease is detected, it has often progressed to the point of metastasizing. Ovarian cancer cells have been observed behaving unconventionally in relation to its reaction to being grown on substrates of different stiffnesses. Instead of flattening and spreading out more on stiffer substrates, strains of ovarian cancer have been documented preferring softer substrates to spread on, which is also dependent on the available extracellular matrix proteins (ECM) presented on the substrate [2,3]. While those behaviors are the opposite of what is expected for most cancer cells [4], however, such deviance has yet to be the sole focus of a study, making it difficult to establish if these documented behaviors are inherent to this type of cancer or not. The goal of this study is to determine if ovarian cancer indeed behaves inversely to expectations by spreading and proliferating more on softer substrates with different extracellular matrix proteins coatings. This research could improve the understanding of the baseline behavior of ovarian cancer, making any assessments of behavior changes from studies more accurate.

Materials and Methods:: Polyacrylamide gels were selected as the substrate material. Two different stiffnesses of gels were used, 0.5 and 30 kPa, which mimic the stiffness of tissue that ovarian cancer commonly metastasizes to. Each stiffness hosted different protein coatings, either collagen, fibronectin, or an equal mix of both at a concentration of 100 ug/mL. Prior to the protein coatings, the gels were first activated with Sulfo-SANPAH at 0.2 mg/mL. SKOV-3 and OVCAR-3 cell lines were cultured on the different substrates as well as glass and polystyrene as controls. The cells were imaged to assess their spreading area and circularity.

Results, Conclusions, and Discussions:: The results of this experiment demonstrate that both SKOV-3 and OVCAR-3 cell lines indeed demonstrate a preference for stiffer substrates when it comes to cell spreading (Fig. 1). Notably, there is an exception with the OVCAR-3 cell line, as the cells did not possess a significant increase in area when grown on collagen coated gels (Fig. 1).

Acknowledgements (Optional): :

References (Optional): :

[

[1] Siegel RL. CA Cancer J Clin. 2023, 73(1):17-48.
[2] McGrail DJ., Journal of cell science. 2014, 127.12: 2621-2626.
[3] McKenzie AJ. Scientific reports. 2018, 8.1: 7228.
[4] Nikolov M. Cancer Research. 2019, 79.13_Supplement: 2451-2451.