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Isolation and Purification of Murine Cardiac Pericytes
Published on: August 16, 2019
Pericytic-like angiotropism of glioma and melanoma cells
Claire Lugassy1, Raymond I Haroun, Henry Brem
1Department of Dermatology, George Washington University Medical Center, The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia 20037, USA.
Abstract:
We have identified in malignant melanoma an angiotumoral complex in which tumor cells occupy a pericytic location along the endothelium of microvessels without evidence of intravasation. We have suggested that this pericytic-like angiotropism could be a marker of an extravascular migration of tumor cells along the abluminal surface of vessels. The extravascular migratory metastasis proposed for melanoma has close analogies with glioma migration. To compare our hypothesis of extravascular migration by melanoma with the migration of glioma cells, we have used the B16 murine melanoma cell line and the GL26 murine glioma cell line in an in vivo murine brain tumor model and in vitro using endothelial cells that have formed capillary-like structures and have been cocultivated with tumor cells. In the brain tumors, a clear progression of glioma and melanoma cells was observed along the abluminal surface of vessels, where they occupied a pericytic location along the periendothelial laminin. In vitro, time-lapse videomicroscopy recorded the migration of tumor cells toward endothelial tubules. After 24 hours, both the melanoma cells and the glioma cells were localized along the external surfaces of the vascular tubules, occupying a pericytic-like location. These similarities between glioma and melanoma support the hypothesis of an extravascular migration of melanoma cells, particularly along the abluminal surface of vessels.
Insights
Malignant melanoma cells migrate along blood vessels, similar to glioma cells. This extravascular migration occurs on the vessel
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Cancer Biology
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Malignant melanoma exhibits an angiotumoral complex where tumor cells associate with microvessels.
- This pericytic-like angiotropism suggests extravascular migration along the abluminal surface of vessels.
- Extravascular migratory metastasis in melanoma shares similarities with glioma cell migration patterns.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate and compare the extravascular migration hypothesis in melanoma with glioma cell migration.
- To validate the pericytic-like angiotropism as a potential marker for melanoma cell extravasation.
Main Methods:
- Utilized B16 murine melanoma and GL26 murine glioma cell lines.
- Employed an in vivo murine brain tumor model.
- Conducted in vitro experiments using cocultures of endothelial cells forming capillary-like structures and tumor cells, analyzed via time-lapse videomicroscopy.
Main Results:
- Both glioma and melanoma cells demonstrated progression along the abluminal surface of vessels in brain tumors, adopting a pericytic location.
- In vitro, tumor cells migrated towards endothelial tubules, localizing to their external surfaces within 24 hours.
- Melanoma and glioma cells consistently occupied a pericytic-like location along vascular structures in both in vivo and in vitro models.
Conclusions:
- The observed similarities in migration patterns between melanoma and glioma cells support the hypothesis of extravascular migration for melanoma.
- Melanoma cells migrate along the abluminal surface of vessels, suggesting a distinct metastatic pathway.
- Pericytic-like angiotropism is a key characteristic of this extravascular migratory mechanism in melanoma.
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