Force transmission regulates mechanical cell competition. (IMAGE)
Caption
A) Cell competition within heterogeneous breast cancers consisting of two sub-populations or (B) model MDCK epithelia. In all conditions, cells with higher force transmission capability mediated through the cell-cell adhesion protein E-cadherin are winning and eliminating the other cell population over time. (C) Maps of mechanical stress compartments during competition, showing areas under compression (blue) or tension (yellow), corresponding to the image above. While compression leads to loser cell elimination in intratumoral cell competition, stress measurements reveal that loser cells can be eliminated independently of mechanical compression (D), but due to fluctuations of stresses emerging at tissue interfaces.
Credit
Figure adapted from Schoenit et al., Nature Materials, 2025.
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