Single-cell lineages reveal the rates, routes, and drivers of metastasis in cancer xenografts

We report deeply resolved phylogenies for tens of thousands of cancer cells traced over months of growth and dissemination. This revealed stark heterogeneity in metastatic capacity, arising from preexisting and heritable differences in gene expression. We demonstrate that these identified genes can drive invasiveness and uncovered an unanticipated suppressive role for KRT17. We also show that metastases disseminated via multidirectional tissue routes and complex seeding topologies. Overall, we demonstrate the power of tracing cancer progression at subclonal resolution and vast scale.

Source: ScienceNOW - February 25, 2021 Category: Science Authors: Quinn, J. J., Jones, M. G., Okimoto, R. A., Nanjo, S., Chan, M. M., Yosef, N., Bivona, T. G., Weissman, J. S. Tags: Cell Biology, Medicine, Diseases, Online Only r-articles Source Type: news