Chemotherapy-induced senescent cancer cells engulf other cells to enhance their survival.

ABSTRACT: In chemotherapy-treated breast cancer, wild-type p53 preferentially induces senescence over apoptosis, resulting in a persisting cell population constituting residual disease that drives relapse and poor patient survival via the senescence-associated secretory phenotype. Understanding the properties of tumor cells that allow survival after chemotherapy treatment is paramount. Using time-lapse and confocal microscopy to observe interactions of cells in treated tumors, we show here that chemotherapy-induced senescent cells frequently engulf both neighboring senescent or nonsenescent tumor cells at a remarkable frequency. Engulfed cells are processed through the lysosome and broken down, and cells that have engulfed others obtain a survival advantage. Gene expression analysis showed a marked

SUBMITTER: Tonnessen-Murray CA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6829672 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature