Figure 3.

Tumor tissue stiffening activates Piezo1 promoting glioma aggressiveness. Tumor tissue stiffening represents the mechanical stimuli which activates Piezo1 facilitating Ca²⁺ influx (blue spheres) into cytoplasm. Consequently, intracellular Ca²⁺ increase, directly or indirectly, activates the integrin-focal adhesion signaling, stimulates cell proliferation and modulates the extracellular matrix remodeling. Besides, the enhanced expression of Piezo1 channels reinforces the mechanosensitivity of the tumor cells, creating a feedforward mechanism which leads to a further glioma progression. Adapted from reference [86]. Created with BioRender.com.