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Cancers
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Cancer Mechanosensing
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Cancer Mechanosensing

A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Cancer Pathophysiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 812

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Meenal Datta

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA
Interests: tumor microenvironment; biological, chemical, electrical, and mechanical abnormalities in tumors; mechano-immunology; immuno-mechanics; multi-scale disease modeling; intravital imaging; science in space (microgravity bioscience)
Dr. Xin Tang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
2. UF Health Cancer Center, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
Interests: biophysics and mechanobiology in cancer development and metastasis, cardiovascular system, and brain; all-optical mechano-electrophysiology; functional imaging in vivo; optogenetics; bio-nanotechnology; genome editing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue on Cancer Mechanosensing will focus on the role of and response to mechanical cues in cancer biology for both solid and liquid tumors. We invite research and review articles exploring mechanosensing mechanisms such as mechanosensitive ion channels, focal adhesions, and cytoskeletal elements. Topics of interest include mechanotransduction pathways and the effects of mechanical forces and properties (e.g., fluid shear stress, stiffness, compression) on cancer cells and non-malignant cells (e.g., endothelial cells, fibroblasts, immune cells) in tumor microenvironments. We also encourage submissions on the role of mechanosensing in tumor progression, metastasis, drug resistance, and immune response. Studies utilizing novel models, biomechanics approaches, or biophysical tools are also welcome.

Dr. Meenal Datta
Dr. Xin Tang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cancers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • cancer mechanosensing
  • mechanotransduction
  • mechanical cues
  • mechanosensitive ion channels
  • focal adhesions
  • cytoskeletal elements
  • tumor microenvironments
  • fluid shear stress
  • stiffness
  • cell compression
  • tumor progression
  • metastasis
  • drug resistance
  • immune response
  • biophysical tools

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

37 pages, 3382 KiB  
Review
Mechanical Modulation, Physiological Roles, and Imaging Innovations of Intercellular Calcium Waves in Living Systems
by Cole Mackey, Yuning Feng, Chenyu Liang, Angela Liang, He Tian, Om Prakash Narayan, Jiawei Dong, Yongchen Tai, Jingzhou Hu, Yu Mu, Quang Vo, Lizi Wu, Dietmar Siemann, Jing Pan, Xianrui Yang, Kejun Huang, Thomas George, Juan Guan and Xin Tang
Cancers 2025, 17(11), 1851; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers17111851 - 31 May 2025
Viewed by 489
Abstract
Long-range intercellular communication is essential for multicellular biological systems to regulate multiscale cell–cell interactions and maintain life. Growing evidence suggests that intercellular calcium waves (ICWs) act as a class of long-range signals that influence a broad spectrum of cellular functions and behaviors. Importantly, [...] Read more.
Long-range intercellular communication is essential for multicellular biological systems to regulate multiscale cell–cell interactions and maintain life. Growing evidence suggests that intercellular calcium waves (ICWs) act as a class of long-range signals that influence a broad spectrum of cellular functions and behaviors. Importantly, mechanical signals, ranging from single-molecule-scale to tissue-scale in vivo, can initiate and modulate ICWs in addition to relatively well-appreciated biochemical and bioelectrical signals. Despite these recent conceptual and experimental advances, the full nature of underpinning mechanotransduction mechanisms by which cells convert mechanical signals into ICW dynamics remains poorly understood. This review provides a systematic analysis of quantitative ICW dynamics around three main stages: initiation, propagation, and regeneration/relay. We highlight the landscape of upstream molecules and organelles that sense and respond to mechanical stimuli, including mechanosensitive membrane proteins and cytoskeletal machinery. We clarify the roles of downstream molecular networks that mediate signal release, spread, and amplification, including adenosine triphosphate (ATP) release, purinergic receptor activation, and gap junction (GJ) communication. Furthermore, we discuss the broad pathophysiological implications of ICWs, covering pathophysiological processes such as cancer metastasis, tissue repair, and developmental patterning. Finally, we summarize recent advances in optical imaging and artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML) technologies that reveal the precise spatial-temporal-functional dynamics of ICWs and ATP waves. By synthesizing these insights, we offer a comprehensive framework of ICW mechanobiology and propose new directions for mechano-therapeutic strategies in disease diagnosis, cancer immunotherapies, and drug discovery. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cancer Mechanosensing)
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