Mechanobiological cues to bone cells during early metastasis drive later osteolysis: A computational mechanoregulation framework prediction

Bone cells contribute to tumour metastasis by producing biochemical factors that stimulate tumour cell homing and proliferation, but also by resorbing bone matrix (osteolysis) that releases further stimulatory factors for tumour growth in a vicious cycle. Changes in the local mechanical environment of bone tissue occur during early metastasis, which might activate mechanobiological responses by resident bone cells (osteocytes) to activate resorption (osteoclasts) and thereby contribute to tumour invasion. The objective of this study is to investigate whether bone osteolysis is driven by early changes in the bone mechanical environment during metastasis by (a) implementing subject-specific FE models of metastatic femora to predict the mechanical environment within bone tissue during early metastasis (3-weeks after tumour inoculation) and then (b) applying mechanoregulation theory to predict bone tissue remodelling as a function of the evolving mechanical environment within bone tissue during breast cancer-bone metastasis. We implemented a global resorption rate derived from an experimental model, but the mechanoregulation algorithm predicted localised bone loss in the greater trochanter region, the same region where osteolysis was prevalent after three weeks of metastasis development in the animal model. Moreover, the mechanical environment evolved in a similar manner to that reported in separate subject-specific finite element models of these same animals by 6 weeks. Thus, we propose that early changes in the physical environment of bone tissue during metastasis may elicit mechanobiological cues for bone cells and activate later osteolytic bone destruction.