Cancer-busting molecule induced pinning, stretching and rupturing of cervical cancer cells

The molecule synthesized by Zhang’s team (a) interacts with GPI-anchored PLAP on the lipid rafts of cervical cancer cells and undergoes self-assembly into nanofibrils (b). As the cancer cell tries to migrate away, more nanofibrils self-assemble on other lipid rafts in the cell membrane, pinning it at the cell margin (c). As the cervical cancer continues to migrate away from the pinned regions, the opposing stretch forces cause it to rupture, killing it (d). Immunostaining of cervical cancer cells (e) enables visualization of the cell nucleus (blue), cytoskeleton (green) and self-assembled nanofibrils (red), as well as cell rupture.