Project: Resistance of skeletal muscle to the metastatic process
About
Metastasis is the leading cause of death from cancer. Most cancers metastasize to organs such as the lung, liver or brain, but striated muscle appears resistant to metastasis. We hypothesize that the contractile activity of muscle generates a microenvironment that is unfavorable for the terminal stages of the metastatic cascade (i.e., extravasation and colonization). Indeed, striated muscle cells are highly metabolically active, and reside in a hypoxic environment – two potentially anti-metastatic properties that are emphasized upon contraction. We explore in vitro the impact of microenvironment modifications induced by striated muscle contraction on resistance to the metastatic process. First, using a newly developed ex vivo model that combines the induction of contraction in isolated striated skeletal muscle with a cell culture setup in hypoxic conditions, mimicking the muscle environment. Next, using ex vivo myocardial contraction in both physiological and pathological conditions. W