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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2022 Jul 15.
Published in final edited form as: Acta Biomater. 2021 May 7;129:96–109. doi: 10.1016/j.actbio.2021.04.053

Figure 7: A model for potential cell-cell communication in the tumor microenvironment through anisotropic matrix properties.

Figure 7:

A) A representative field of view taken from intravital microscopy of a mouse mammary tumor depicts multiple cell types (cyan tumor cells and red stromal cells) within the collagen dense mammary tumor microenvironment. Collagen fibers (white) are detected with SHG. The tumors (cyan, *) and disseminating tumor cells are visualized with NADH endogenous fluorescence (cyan) while stromal cells are visualized with FAD autofluorescence (red). B) Higher magnification (yellow inset) of the tumor highlights stromal cells (arrows) and tumor cells (arrow heads) positioned parallel or perpendicular to each other along aligned collagen fibers. C) A schematic model of how collagen fiber architecture may facilitate, or bias mechanical cues used in mechanosensing. Displacements generated along the axis of alignment propagate further than those that propagate perpendicular to alignment. This may allow cells to disproportionately sense other cell types at greater distance along the axis of alignment. Artwork created with BioRender.com.