Squeezing through the microcirculation: survival adaptations of circulating tumour cells to seed metastasis
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Perea Paizal, Julia
Au, Sam H
Bakal, Chris
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
During metastasis, tumour cells navigating the vascular circulatory system—circulating tumour cells (CTCs)—encounter capillary beds, where they start the process of extravasation. Biomechanical constriction forces exerted by the microcirculation compromise the survival of tumour cells within capillaries, but a proportion of CTCs manage to successfully extravasate and colonise distant sites. Despite the profound importance of this step in the progression of metastatic cancers, the factors about this deadly minority of cells remain elusive. Growing evidence suggests that mechanical forces exerted by the capillaries might induce adaptive mechanisms in CTCs, enhancing their survival and metastatic potency. Advances in microfluidics have enabled a better understanding of the cell-survival capabilities adopted in capillary-mimicking constrictions. In this review, we will highlight adaptations developed by CTCs to endure mechanical constraints in the microvasculature and outline how these mechanical forces might trigger dynamic changes towards a more invasive phenotype. A better understanding of the dynamic mechanisms adopted by CTCs within the microcirculation that ultimately lead to metastasis could open up novel therapeutic avenues.
Date Issued
2021-01-05
Date Acceptance
2020-11-03
Citation
British Journal of Cancer, 2021, 124, pp.58-65
ISSN
0007-0920
Publisher
Springer Nature [academic journals on nature.com]
Start Page
58
End Page
65
Journal / Book Title
British Journal of Cancer
Volume
124
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2020. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing,
adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give
appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative
Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party
material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless
indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the
article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory
regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly
from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.
org/licenses/by/4.0/
Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing,
adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give
appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative
Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party
material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless
indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the
article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory
regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly
from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.
org/licenses/by/4.0/
License URL
Identifier
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41416-020-01176-x
Subjects
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Oncology
NUCLEAR-ENVELOPE RUPTURE
CANCER-CELLS
NEURAL CREST
DNA-DAMAGE
IN-VIVO
MIGRATION
ADHESION
VISUALIZATION
DEFORMATION
CHANNELS
Oncology & Carcinogenesis
1112 Oncology and Carcinogenesis
1117 Public Health and Health Services
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2020-12-01