Blockage of Squamous Cancer Cell Collective Invasion by FAK Inhibition Is Released by CAFs and MMP-2.

ABSTRACT: Metastasis remains a clinically unsolved issue in cancer that is initiated by the acquisition of collective migratory properties of cancer cells. Phenotypic and functional heterogeneity that arise among cancer cells within the same tumor increase cellular plasticity and promote metastasis, however, their impact on collective cell migration is incompletely understood. Here, we show that in vitro collective cancer cell migration depends on FAK and MMP-2 and on the presence of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). The absence of functional FAK rendered cancer cells incapable of invading the surrounding stroma. However, CAFs and cancer cells over-expressing MMP-2 released FAK-deficient cells from this constraint by taking the leader positions in the invasive tracks, pushing FAK-deficient squam

SUBMITTER: Saenz-de-Santa-Maria I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7764466 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature