Colonization of distant organs by tumor cells generating circulating homotypic clusters adaptive to fluid shear stress.

ABSTRACT: Once disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) arrive at a metastatic organ, they remain there, latent, and become seeds of metastasis. However, the clonal composition of DTCs in a latent state remains unclear. Here, we applied high-resolution DNA barcode tracking to a mouse model that recapitulated the metastatic dormancy of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). We found that clones abundantly circulated peripheral blood dominated DTCs. Through analyses of multiple barcoded clonal lines, we identified specific subclonal population that preferentially generated homotypic circulating tumor cell (CTC) clusters and dominated DTCs. Despite no notable features under static conditions, this population significantly generated stable cell aggregates that were resistant to anoikis under fluid shear

SUBMITTER: Maeshiro M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7969766 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature