Objective
A cancer grows from a mild non-invasive tumor to a full-blown malignant one with accumulated genetic mutations and epigenetic changes. Metastasis, the process by which tumor cells spread to another organ, is one of the most pathological properties of malignant cancer cells. To illustrate the mechanism of tumorigenesis, cancer metastasis and angiogenesis, key molecular events in both in vitro and in vivo models will be imaged and tracked by using fluorescent nanomaterials and single molecular imaging technology. The cancer models, including the cancer cell lines and extracellular matrix in the microfluidic chip, the cancer cell lines in an artificial blood vessel system and the active tumors in living organisms, will be used to study protein-protein interactions, the circulating tumor cells (CTC) extravasation/intravasation processes, the cell membrane protein diffusion coefficiency and the protein dynamics involved in cell signaling of tumorigenesis in cancer metastasis.
