Cell Signalling in Tumor Growth and Tissue Mechanics

Cells respond to their physical environment through mechanotransduction, the translation of mechanical forces into biochemical signals; evoked cell phenotypic changes can lead to an altered cell microenvironment, creating a developmental feedback. Interplay between such mechanosensitive pathways and other inter- and intra-cellular signalling mechanisms determines cell differentiation and, ultimately, tissue development. Such developmental mechanisms have key relevance to the initiation and development of cancer, a disease of such inherent complexity (involving the interaction of a variety of processes across disparate spatio-temporal scales, from intracellular signalling cascades to tissue-level mechanics) that, despite a wealth of theoretical and experimental studies, it remains a leading cause of mortality and morbidity: in the UK, more than one in three people will develop some form of cancer. There is therefore an urgent need to gain greater quantitative understanding of these highly complex systems, which are well-suited to mathematical study