Cancer can spread in various ways, including having the ability of individual cells to move away from the main tumor and invade other tissues. One process that makes this possible is epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), a mechanism that turns epithelial cells into mesenchymal stem cells that have lost their cell-cell adhesion. While EMT has been known to play a role in cancers spreading, studying how the morphed cells move away from a tumor has been a challenge. To help with that, Researchers at Brown University have devised a microchip that acts like an obstacle course for tumor cells that have gone through EMT.
The microchip consists of a surface with pegs placed throughout that are 10 micrometers wide and spaced 10 micrometers apart. A line of benign cancer cells was induced to become malignant and placed on the microchip. Free to roam, the cells began migrating through the chip and between the pillars while a microscope captured time-lapse imagery of the action. The researchers discovered that most of the cells stuck together and moved slowly across the chip, while about 16 percent of them dashed forward and quickly slithered across on their own. Moreover, many of the cells that stayed behind with the main group began to produce epithelial proteins, signaling that they turned back into epithelial cells. The researchers believe that this points to potential therapies that focus on keeping EMT cells from rushing ahead of the main group, hopefully turning back into cells that don’t have a constant urge to move away. Here’s time lapse video of cancer cells moving through the chip:
Study in Nature Materials: Collective and individual migration following the epithelial–mesenchymal transition…
Brown: Microchip reveals how tumor cells transition to invasion…
