Schneider Research Group

Engineering Cell Dynamics

Adhesion and Cytoskeleton Dynamics

Cancer Cell-Immune Cell Paracrine Interactions

Coincidence Detectors

for Cancer Diagnostics

Engineering Multi-cue

Migrational Environments

Cancer Cell-Immune Cell Paracrine Interactions:

Cell-cell communication regulates the physiological process of wound healing as well as the pathological process of cancer metastasis. Recently, it was discovered that there is a paracrine loop linking carcinoma cells and macrophages during the early stages of metastasis. Carcinoma cells secrete colony stimulating factor-1 (CSF-1). CSF-1 induces macrophages to secrete epidermal growth factor (EGF). EGF induces carcinoma cells to leave the tumor and to secrete more CSF-1, which in turn activates more macrophages. We are interested in examining the signaling dynamics of this paracrine interaction as well as how this paracrin interaction operates spatially in mixed-cultures with varying densities and spacing of cells.