TGF-β1-induced EMT promotes targeted migration of breast cancer cells through the lymphatic system by the activation of CCR7/CCL21-mediated chemotaxis.

ABSTRACT: Tumor cells frequently disseminate through the lymphatic system during metastatic spread of breast cancer and many other types of cancer. Yet it is not clear how tumor cells make their way into the lymphatic system and how they choose between lymphatic and blood vessels for migration. Here we report that mammary tumor cells undergoing epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in response to transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β1) become activated for targeted migration through the lymphatic system, similar to dendritic cells (DCs) during inflammation. EMT cells preferentially migrated toward lymphatic vessels compared with blood vessels, both in vivo and in 3D cultures. A mechanism of this targeted migration was traced to the capacity of TGF-β1 to promote CCR7/CCL21-mediated crosstalk between

SUBMITTER: Pang MF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4753256 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature