Morphological changes of epithelial cells and spreading of cancer: theoretical consideration

Abstract

Epithelial cancers are the most common cancer diseases worldwide within last few years. Many of these diseases can be cured if treated effectively in an early stage. The early stage of diseases includes the spreading of cancer cells through healthy epithelium. This spreading of cancer (mesenchymal) cells influences the reorganization of epithelium itself via collective cell migration, which has a feedback to heterotypic interactions along the bio-interface between epithelial and cancer subpopulations and further cancer spreading. This cause–consequence inter-relation is guided by the interplay among biological and physical factors. While biological factors, such as cell signaling and gene expression, which influence cell contractility and remodeling of cell–cell and cell–matrix adhesion contacts and consequently, homotopic and heterotypic interactions are well elaborated, we still don’t understand properly the impact of physical factors on altered morphological changes of epithelial cells. The deeper insight into these physical interactions may help us to solve some long-standing questions in disease progression and can lead to advance in cancer diagnostics and therapies. This review focuses on the role of the physical factors, such as epithelial and cancer surface tensions, interfacial tension between the subpopulations, gradients of interfacial tension of the subpopulations, cell residual stress generation, and frictional effects along the bio-interface on the morphological changes of epithelial cells and the impact of these changes on further spreading of cancer.