VLA-4 mediated adhesion of melanoma cells on the blood-brain barrier is the critical cue for melanoma cell intercalation and barrier disruption.

ABSTRACT: Melanoma is the most aggressive skin cancer in humans. One severe complication is the formation of brain metastasis, which requires extravasation of melanoma cells across the tight blood-brain barrier (BBB). Previously, VLA-4 has been assigned a role for the adhesive interaction of melanoma cells with non-BBB endothelial cells. However, the role of melanoma VLA-4 for breaching the BBB remained unknown. In this study, we used a mouse in vitro BBB model and imaged the shear resistant arrest of melanoma cells on the BBB. Similar to effector T cells, inflammatory conditions of the BBB increased the arrest of melanoma cells followed by a unique post-arrest behavior lacking immediate crawling. However, over time, melanoma cells intercalated into the BBB and compromised its barrier properties. Mo

SUBMITTER: Garcia-Martin AB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6775593 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature