Wed Sep 17 13:35:44 UTC 2025: Okay, here’s a summary and a news article based on the provided text:

**Summary:**

A collaborative study by the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc.) has discovered that calcium and pH levels significantly impact the structure and behavior of ovarian cancer spheroids. These spheroids, clusters of cancer cells that spread the disease, can change form (from hollow to solid and vice versa) based on the levels of these two environmental factors. The study found that blastuloids, a type of spheroid with a hollow cavity, pulsate and can collapse due to calcium or pH changes, but can also rebuild quickly when conditions are restored. The findings suggest that understanding and controlling these environmental factors could be crucial in understanding and potentially combating the spread of ovarian cancer.

**News Article:**

**Indian Scientists Discover Environmental Factors Driving Ovarian Cancer Spread**

**Bengaluru, September 17, 2025** – A groundbreaking study by researchers at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc.) has revealed the crucial role of calcium and pH levels in the behavior of ovarian cancer spheroids, clusters of cells that contribute to the spread of the disease. The findings, published in the scientific journal *Small*, could pave the way for new strategies in understanding and potentially combating ovarian cancer metastasis.

Ovarian cancer often spreads through the abdominal cavity via these floating spheroids, which come in varying forms. The NCBS study focused on how these spheroids change and what affects them.

“These spheroids are quite sophisticated,” explained the NCBS in a statement. “Some look like solid, misshapen masses (moruloids), while others resemble smooth, mulberry-like hollow structures (blastuloids). Why and how these structures emerge, and whether they affect how the cancer progresses has been under speculation for years.”

Led by Sreepadmanabh M. from the Bhattacharjee lab at NCBS, the research team discovered that blastuloids, spheroids with a hollow core, undergo dramatic pulsations, expanding and contracting their internal cavity. Remarkably, these structures can recover even after catastrophic collapses, relying on E-cadherin junctions, which are cell-binding proteins.

The key breakthrough was the realization that calcium levels and pH directly influence spheroid structure. By manipulating calcium, researchers could force blastuloids to collapse into solid moruloid-like masses. Importantly, when calcium was restored, the hollow structure rapidly reappeared, even reforming from completely disassembled cells within two days – a process that normally takes over a week.

Furthermore, the study found that pH, a measure of acidity, also plays a critical role. Acidic conditions (similar to those found in the fluid surrounding cancer spheroids in the abdomen) paused blastuloid pulsations, while alkaline conditions caused them to collapse. These changes were also reversible upon restoring pH to normal levels.

“Simply put, once the cells have formed a blastuloid, the next time around they remember how to rebuild it much faster,” said Sreepadmanabh.

The research highlights the importance of the tumor microenvironment in cancer progression. Understanding how these environmental factors influence spheroid behavior could lead to targeted therapies aimed at disrupting the spread of ovarian cancer by controlling calcium and pH levels within the tumor.

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