Figure 7. E-cadherin inhibits spheroid formation by increased cell-cell adhesion.

A. E-cadherin causes tighter clustering of cells during spheroid formation. B. A mechanical model illustrates the relationship between particle distance to adhesion. C. A mechanical model predicts E-cadherin drives down spheroid size through an increase in cell-cell adhesion. D-E. As predicted in the model, ectopic E-cadherin expression increases cell-cell adhesion in 143B (D) and U2OS (E) cells.