Abstract
The importance of the biophysical cellular environment in cancer development has been increasingly recognised but so far has been only superficially studied. Here we investigated the effect of cell-like substrate topography on ovarian cancer cell behaviour and potential underlying signalling pathways. We observed changes in cell morphology in response to substrate topography, which implies modification of structure-function associations. Differences in focal adhesion signalling and Rho/ROCK activity suggested their involvement in the biomechanically-driven cellular responses. Cell-like topography was also shown to modulate the MAPK pathway and hence potentially regulate cell proliferation. The selective regulation of the cells by the mechanotransduction pathways that we noted has wide ranging implications for understanding cancer development. We established that the physical architecture of cell culture substrate is sufficient to influence cancer cell behaviour, independent of genetic composition or biochemical milieu.
•Substrate topography influences details of cytoskeletal architecture.•Cytoskeletal remodelling modulates cell responses.•Biomechanical cues selectively regulate focal adhesion and Rho/ROCK signalling.•Mechanical forces underlie cancer cell development.•Biophysics is central to full understanding of cancer cell behaviour.