Tumor-Tissue Boundaries as Instructive Interfaces in Breast Cancer Cell Invasion.

ABSTRACT: The ability of metastatic cancer cells to invade distant tissues requires them to cross a variety of tissue boundaries, each posing distinct structural and biochemical challenges. In particular, the boundary between dense, extracellular matrix (ECM)-rich tumor tissue and surrounding stromal tissue is associated with phenotypic changes in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells following transmigration, including increased invasiveness and aggressiveness. It remains unclear whether this transition arises from selective, permissive filtering of pre-existing subpopulations, such as cancer stem cells, or an instructive response of the entire cell population. Here, by combining single-cell migration analysis, heterogeneity analysis of cell proliferation, and computational modeling, it is demonstrated th

SUBMITTER: Clemens C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12667463 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature