Fig. 7.

Tractions on the microgels do not increase with tumor colony sizes. a An example of an encapsulated ERMG (Young’s moduli of 1440 Pa) inside a 3D melanoma colony of TRCs (Day 6 of culture). The colony grew from a single melanoma cell at Day 0. Green dashed line, microgel; white dashed line, edges of the colony. b 3D deformation and corresponding tractions of the ERMG. c Representative images of three different melanoma colonies at different days of culture, each colony encapsulating an ERMG. Each colony (of all colonies) grew from a single melanoma cell at Day 0. d Average absolute total and shear traction on the surface of each ERMG as a function of colony size. Solid line, arithmetic mean of total tractions. Average total and shear tractions are −357.9 ± 12.03 Pa and 49.1 ± 2.58 Pa, respectively (mean ± s.e.m., n = 87 ERMGs). All scale bars, 25 µm