Solid stress inhibits the growth of multicellular tumor spheroids

Introduction

The growth, morphogenesis, and homeostasis of tissue are tightly regulated by the stress field; examples can be found in the bone (external load) and blood vessel (systemic pressure). Vice versa, stress can be induced by cellular processes; examples are traction forces and residual stresses in tissues.

Researchers hypothesized that the stress may affect

• Tumor growth rate
• Growth pattern in vitro/in vivo
• Tumor physiology and blood flow - vessel wall collapse, chronic vascular/lymphatic occlusion
• Metastasis

However, the stress generated was difficult to quantify and we did not know how the stress affects proliferation/apoptosis/cellular density. The tumor growth in vivo also involves a gradual displacement of the surrounding matrix.

In this study, the authors addressed these concerns by seeding tumor cells in an agarose gels (the cells formed spheroids) - an in vitro study. The effect of the external stress was simulated by deformation of the gel. Also, when the spheroids grow, they generated stress, which can be calculated from the size of the spheroids and properties of the gel.

Techniques used:

• TUNEL (Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP Nick End Labeling) - apoptosis
• PCNA (Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen) marker - proliferation
• PI (Propidium iodide) staining - cell density

Results

Kinetics of tumor spheroid growth modulated by solid stress?

Increasing agarose concentration increases initial stiffness of the matrix.

In human colon adenocarcinoma (LS174T):

• Low concentrations (<0.8%): Growth rates and final sizes were shown to not change much when the concentration changed, but were significantly lower than free-suspension controls.
• High concentrations (>0.9%): Growth was inhibited, lower clonal efficiency (?) (the ability of the individual cells to form colonies in culture)
  • Threshold for significant growth inhibition at 0.9-1% conc. Sizes not decrease progressively.
• Clonal efficiencies are similar across all conditions until very high gel conc.

Same trends for other lines.

So, increase in initial matrix stiffness does accelerate response to growth-induced stress, as shown by spheroid growth kinetics and clonal efficiency.

(reversibly inhibit?)

Growth responded to local threshold level of stress (by gradual displacement)?

• Look at solid stress on the surface of the spheroids
• Levels of accumulated stress around plateau-phase spheroids are comparable, though the final sizes varied with initial gel conc.
• Variability due to
  • Assumption that there is no matrix relaxation
  • Error in data on mechanical prop. of gels and spheroid diameter measurements
  • (Small) variation in gel conc.
  • Size heterogeneity of spheroids
• Stress profile dropped back to pregrowth value at distance of the spheroid radius - assumption that spheroids not interact mechanically to each other

So, spheroids grow (in mechanically resist matrix) until a growth-inhibitory threshold level of stress is reached

Growth resumes when stress is allevated

• Digestion of agarose to release the spheroids > place as free-suspensions > resume growth
• Growth rates and sizes statistically not different from those in controls (free-suspensions)

So, effect of stress is reversible

Nonuniform stress affects shape of tumor aggregates

In this experiment, the authors grew cells in cylindrical glass capillary tubes, with the diameter of the tube about the size of final spheroids in suspension (control). The tube causes the radial stress to increase more rapidly that the axial stress during growth.

• Controls: nearly perfect spheroids (longitudinal axis vs. radial axis)
• 0.7% gels in tube: ellipsoid shapes (longer axis on the longitudinal direction)
• 0.7% gels outside tube: continue to grow, near-spheroid shapes afterwards

So, tumor cell aggregates preferentially grow in the direction of least stress and the growth pattern is modulated by stress field