# Role of glucose in regulating cell mechanotype

> **NIH NIH P20** · UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO HEALTH SCIS CTR · 2021 · $260,391

## Abstract

Cellular mechanical properties, collectively referred to as mechanotype, play a role in cell physiology and pathology, including cell proliferation, survival, metabolism, stem cell differentiation, immune cell migration, and cancer metastasis. Cell deformability and contractility are two key characteristics that determine the mechanotype of a cell. We have focused on understanding how cellular mechanotype is regulated by microenvironmental inputs that have been implicated in cell invasion, such as glucose levels. Hyperglycemia (HG) is prevalent in obesity and diabetes, which in turn are factors facilitating cancer progression. 
The effects of HG on cellular mechanotype are the focus of this project. The mentored principal investigator (mPI) has developed a novel cell mechanotyping tool to probe cell deformability, called parallel microfiltration (PMF). In this project, using PMF and related technologies, we will define effects of glucose on cell mechanotype in two distinct model systems: breast cancer cells and macrophages. Our hypothesis is that the HG effects on cellular mechanotype have critical consequences on cell migration, invasiveness, and anoikis. Our long-term objective is to identify pathways that regulate cell mechanotype, migration, and survival under HG conditions, which is of translational relevance and health significance in the context of cancer and immune responses.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10517882
- **Project number:** 5P20GM121176-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO HEALTH SCIS CTR
- **Principal Investigator:** Tae-Hyung Kim
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $260,391
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-10-21 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10517882

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10517882, Role of glucose in regulating cell mechanotype (5P20GM121176-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10517882. Licensed CC0.

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