Stromal fibroblasts induce metastatic tumor cell clusters via epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity.

ABSTRACT: Emerging evidence supports the hypothesis that multicellular tumor clusters invade and seed metastasis. However, whether tumor-associated stroma induces epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity in tumor cell clusters, to promote invasion and metastasis, remains unknown. We demonstrate herein that carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) frequently present in tumor stroma drive the formation of tumor cell clusters composed of two distinct cancer cell populations, one in a highly epithelial (E-cadherin^hiZEB1^lo/neg: E^hi) state and another in a hybrid epithelial/mesenchymal (E-cadherin^loZEB1^hi: E/M) state. The E^hi cells highly express oncogenic cell-cell adhesion molecules, such as carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule

SUBMITTER: Matsumura Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6653778 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature