How a thick "sugar coating" on cells may drive aggressive cancers

A research team led by UC San Francisco scientists has shown that cancer-induced structural changes in a sugary coating ensheathing cells can promote mechanical interactions that fuel tumor growth and metastasis. According to Valerie Weaver, professor of surgery and anatomy, and director of UCSF’s Center for Bioengineering and Tissue Regeneration, the kinetic trap in the bulky glycocalyx of cancer cells could act as a sort of “all or none” switch: integrin binding and activation is generally less likely, but when it occurs it is decisive. Read more here.