Multivariate analysis reveals activation-primed fibroblast geometric states in engineered 3D tumor microenvironments
Saradha Venkatachalapathy, Doorgesh Sharma Jokhun, G. V. Shivashankar
Abstract
SMA. Importantly, our results indicate the presence of activation-"primed" cell geometries that present higher activation levels, which are further enhanced in the presence of stimuli from cancer cells. Further, we show that by enriching the population of activation-primed cell geometric states by either increasing matrix rigidity or micropatterning primed cell shapes, fibroblast activation levels can be increased. Collectively, our results reveal important cellular geometric states that select for fibroblast activation within the heterogenous tumor microenvironment.
Topics & Concepts
BiologyFibroblastCell biologyMultivariate statisticsMultivariate analysisComputational biologyGeneticsCell cultureMachine learningComputer scienceMathematicsStatisticsCellular Mechanics and Interactions3D Printing in Biomedical ResearchCell Image Analysis Techniques