Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 31, 2026

Spheroid Assay to Measure TGF-β-induced Invasion
Published on: November 16, 2011
How do tenascins influence the birth and life of a malignant cell?
Florence Brellier1, Ruth Chiquet-Ehrismann
1Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Novartis Research Foundation, Basel, Switzerland.
Abstract:
Tenascins are large glycoproteins found in embryonic and adult extracellular matrices. Of the four family members, two have been shown to be overexpressed in the microenvironment of solid tumours: tenascin-C and tenascin-W. The regular presence of these proteins in tumours suggests a role in tumourigenesis, which has been investigated intensively for tenascin-C and recently for tenascin-W as well. In this review, we follow a malignant cell starting from its birth through its potential metastatic journey and describe how tenascin-C and tenascin-W contribute to these successive steps of tumourigenesis. We consider the importance of the mechanical aspect in tenascin signalling. Furthermore, we discuss studies describing tenascin-C as an important component of stem cell niches and present examples reporting its role in cancer therapy resistance.
Related Concept Videos
Cadherins in Tissue Organization
Cell Sorting During Development
Cell sorting plays an...
Metastasis
Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition
The epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition or EMT is a developmental process commonly observed in wound healing, embryogenesis, and cancer metastasis. EMT is induced by transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) or receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) ligands, which further...
Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...
Cancer
The Tumor Microenvironment
Cancer Cell Migration through Invadopodia

