Penn researchers show nuclear stiffness keeps stem cells and cancer cells in place

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have shown that cell migration through micron-size pores is regulated by lamin-A, a nuclear protein that is very similar to the fibrous ones that make up hair. They have also shown that a cell’s ability to survive the mechanical stress of migration depends on proteins called “heat shock factors.” Using an anti-cancer drug that inhibits heat shock responses, they showed that this drug’s effectiveness relies on inhibiting the invasive migration of cells via the same mechanism. Read more here.