Mechanobiology of Single Cells: Focus on Tumorigenesis
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Biology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026
Special Issue Editor
Interests: biophysics; cell biology; mechanobiology; single-cell analysis; cancer biology; mitochondrial function; cell mechanics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The dynamic mechanical microenvironment surrounding cells has emerged as a major cell behavior regulator, particularly in cancer. Single-cell mechanobiology has advanced greatly in uncovering the way cells sense, respond to, and learn from mechanical stimuli via a highly structured signaling network spanning the plasma membrane through to the nucleus and organelles.
This Special Issue invites submissions that cover the cross-talk between mechanical forces and tumorigenic processes at the single cell level. Particular focus is placed on how mechanotransduction signaling pathways (mediated by cytoskeletal reorganizations, nuclear deformation, and communication between organelles) result in the initiation, growth, and metastasis of cancer.
Accumulating evidence suggests that tumor-related mechanical stresses like increased matrix stiffness, shear stress, and solid stress are not only by-products of cancer, but active tumor drivers of tumorigenesis. Apart from this, mitochondria, being inherent to both bioenergetics and signaling, have recently been recognized as pivotal regulators in transducing mechanical stimuli into cellular consequences. Mitochondrial dysfunction and dynamics, including an imbalance of fission–fusion and impaired mitophagy, have been closely linked to mechanical stress adaptation and survival in cancer cells. It becomes evident that other organelles are subjected to mechanical stress and adopt their functions accordingly.
We encourage original research papers and reviews on (but not limited to) the following:
- Mechanosensing and mechanotransduction at the single-cell level in cancer;
- Mitochondrial dynamics and function modified by mechanical forces;
- Integration of biophysical modeling and experimental mechanobiology;
- Single-cell technologies for probing cancer cell mechanics;
- Organelle-specific mechanical stress responses to mechanical stress in tumor microenvironments;
- The mechanobiological contribution to drug resistance, metastasis, and cancer stemness.
This Special Issue aims to provide a comprehensive and multidisciplinary overview of the roles of physical signals and cellular mechanics in tumor biology and their implications for new therapeutic opportunities and diagnostic methodologies.
We look forward to reading your contributions.
Dr. Oleg Lunov
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- mechanobiology
- cingle-cell analysis
- tumor microenvironment
- mitochondrial dynamics
- cancer mechanotransduction
- cell mechanics
- biophysics
- cytoskeleton
- organelle stress responses
- tumorigenesis
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