Anchorage-independent

In vitro transformed cells and cancer-derived cells are able to survive and grow in the absence of anchorage to the extracellular matrix (ECM) and their neighboring cells, termed anchorage independence of growth, correlates closely with tumorigenicity in animal models.

Following the disruption of cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions, cells are exposed to a totally different chemical and mechanical environment. During this, cells inevitably suffer from multiple stresses, including loss of growth stimuli from ECM, altered mechanical force, cytoskeletal reorganization, reduced nutrient uptake, and increased reactive oxygen species generation ¹⁾.