Plasticity of cancer cell invasion: Patterns and mechanisms

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranon.2020.100899Get rights and content
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Highlights

  • Cancer cells can disseminate via amoeboid cell migration, mesenchymal cell migration or collective cell migration.

  • Tumor microenvironment and certain therapeutic challenge can trigger the transitions of migration patterns.

  • Plasticity of cancer cells migration limit efficiency of anti-metastasis therapies.

  • Combination therapy targeting different migration is a promising anti-metastasis therapy.

Abstract

Cancer cell migration and invasion are integral components of metastatic disease, which is the major cause of death in cancer patients. Cancer cells can disseminate and migrate via several alternative mechanisms including amoeboid cell migration, mesenchymal cell migration, and collective cell migration. These diverse movement strategies display certain specific and distinct hallmarks in cell-cell junctions, actin cytoskeleton, matrix adhesion, and protease activity. During tumor progression, cells pass through complex microenvironments and adapt their migration strategies by reversible mesenchymal-amoeboid and individual-collective transitions. This plasticity in motility patterns enables cancer cells disseminate further and thus limit the efficiency of anti-metastasis therapies. In this review, we discuss the modes and mechanisms of cancer cell migration and focus on the plasticity of tumor cell movement as well as potential emerging therapeutic options for reducing cancer cell invasion.

Abbreviations

ECM
extracellular matrix
EMT
epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition
CTC
circulating tumor cells
ROCK
Rho-associated kinase
FAK
focal adhesion kinase
MMPs
matrix metalloproteinases
MAT
mesenchymal-amoeboid transition
AMT
amoeboid-mesenchymal transition
BM-MSCs
bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells
CMT
collective-mesenchymal transition
CAT
collective-amoeboid transition
YAP
Yes-associated protein
TGFBR1
TGF-beta type-I receptor
MCT
mesenchymal-collective transition
ACT
amoeboid-collective transition

Keywords

Cancer cell invasion
Amoeboid cell migration
Mesenchymal cell migration
Mesenchymal-amoeboid transition
Amoeboid-mesenchymal transition

Cited by (0)

1

These authors contributed equally to this work.

2

Post address: State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology (Sichuan University), Chengdu Sichuan 610041, China.

3

Post address: Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Sichuan Cancer Hospital & Institute, Sichuan Cancer Center, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China.