TY - JOUR
T1 - Mismatch in mechanical and adhesive properties induces pulsating cancer cell migration in epithelial monolayer
AU - Lee, Meng Horng
AU - Wu, Pei Hsun
AU - Staunton, Jack Rory
AU - Ros, Robert
AU - Longmore, Gregory D.
AU - Wirtz, Denis
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by National Institutes of Health grants R01GM084204, U54CA143868, and U54CA143862.
PY - 2012/6/20
Y1 - 2012/6/20
N2 - The mechanical and adhesive properties of cancer cells significantly change during tumor progression. Here we assess the functional consequences of mismatched stiffness and adhesive properties between neighboring normal cells on cancer cell migration in an epithelial-like cell monolayer. Using an in vitro coculture system and live-cell imaging, we find that the speed of single, mechanically soft breast carcinoma cells is dramatically enhanced by surrounding stiff nontransformed cells compared with single cells or a monolayer of carcinoma cells. Soft tumor cells undergo a mode of pulsating migration that is distinct from conventional mesenchymal and amoeboid migration, whereby long-lived episodes of slow, random migration are interlaced with short-lived episodes of extremely fast, directed migration, whereas the surrounding stiff cells show little net migration. This bursty migration is induced by the intermittent, myosin II-mediated deformation of the soft nucleus of the cancer cell, which is induced by the transient crowding of the stiff nuclei of the surrounding nontransformed cells, whose movements depend directly on the cadherin-mediated mismatched adhesion between normal and cancer cells as well as α-catenin-based intercellular adhesion of the normal cells. These results suggest that a mechanical and adhesive mismatch between transformed and nontransformed cells in a cell monolayer can trigger enhanced pulsating migration. These results shed light on the role of stiff epithelial cells that neighbor individual cancer cells in early steps of cancer dissemination.
AB - The mechanical and adhesive properties of cancer cells significantly change during tumor progression. Here we assess the functional consequences of mismatched stiffness and adhesive properties between neighboring normal cells on cancer cell migration in an epithelial-like cell monolayer. Using an in vitro coculture system and live-cell imaging, we find that the speed of single, mechanically soft breast carcinoma cells is dramatically enhanced by surrounding stiff nontransformed cells compared with single cells or a monolayer of carcinoma cells. Soft tumor cells undergo a mode of pulsating migration that is distinct from conventional mesenchymal and amoeboid migration, whereby long-lived episodes of slow, random migration are interlaced with short-lived episodes of extremely fast, directed migration, whereas the surrounding stiff cells show little net migration. This bursty migration is induced by the intermittent, myosin II-mediated deformation of the soft nucleus of the cancer cell, which is induced by the transient crowding of the stiff nuclei of the surrounding nontransformed cells, whose movements depend directly on the cadherin-mediated mismatched adhesion between normal and cancer cells as well as α-catenin-based intercellular adhesion of the normal cells. These results suggest that a mechanical and adhesive mismatch between transformed and nontransformed cells in a cell monolayer can trigger enhanced pulsating migration. These results shed light on the role of stiff epithelial cells that neighbor individual cancer cells in early steps of cancer dissemination.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84862643429&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.bpj.2012.05.005
DO - 10.1016/j.bpj.2012.05.005
M3 - Article
C2 - 22735523
AN - SCOPUS:84862643429
SN - 0006-3495
VL - 102
SP - 2731
EP - 2741
JO - Biophysical Journal
JF - Biophysical Journal
IS - 12
ER -