Tag Archives: tumor environment

UCLA Bioengineers Discover Single Cancer Cell Can Produce Up To Five Daughter Cells

Findings could aid researchers in understanding progression of disease

It’s well known in conventional biology that during the process of mammalian cell division, or mitosis, a mother cell divides equally into two daughter cells. But when it comes to cancer, say UCLA researchers, mother cells may be far more prolific.

Bioengineers at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science developed a platform to mechanically confine cells, simulating the in vivo three-dimensional environments in which they divide, and found that, upon confinement, cancer cells often split into three or more daughter cells.

“We hope that this platform will allow us to better understand how the 3-D mechanical environment may play a role in the progression of a benign tumor into a malignant tumor that kills,” said Dino Di Carlo, an associate professor of bioengineering at UCLA and principal investigator on the research. (more…)

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