Une compression nucléaire sévère provoque des dommages à l'ADN et un arrêt du cycle cellulaire.

Tumor progression profoundly remodels the extracellular matrix (ECM), increasing collagen density and generating encapsulating structures formed by cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). These changes stiffen the microenvironment, elevate intratumoral pressure and impose drastic spatial confinement on epithelial cells. Such mechanical constraints can perturb nuclear architecture and compromise genomic stability. Histological evidence from human tumors shows highly elongated, deformed nuclei, often restricted to a height of approximately 3 µm, with localized DNA damage at invasive fronts. However, how vertical confinements can induce malignant traits in healthy epithelial cells remains unclear. To address this question, we used an in vitro compression system based on agarose hydrogel microstructures to impose defined vertical nuclear confinement on MCF-10A epithelial cells.