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Amoeboid-mesenchymal migration plasticity promotes invasion only in complex heterogeneous microenvironments
Katrin Talkenberger1, Elisabetta Ada Cavalcanti-Adam2,3, Anja Voss-Böhme4,5
1Center for Information Services and High Performance Computing, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062, Dresden, Germany. katrin.boettger@mailbox.tu-dresden.de.
Scientific Reports
|August 25, 2017
Summary
Tumor cells switch between amoeboid and mesenchymal migration. This plasticity enhances invasion only in complex microenvironments with heterogeneous extracellular matrix and chemotactic gradients, mimicking in vivo conditions.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Biophysics
- Mathematical Modeling
Background:
- Tumor cells exhibit two migration modes: mesenchymal and amoeboid.
- The cellular microenvironment influences switching between these modes for adaptation.
- The contribution of this migration plasticity to effective tumor invasion remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if amoeboid-mesenchymal migration plasticity enhances tumor invasion.
- To model the regulation of migration plasticity in response to extracellular matrix resistance.
Main Methods:
- Developed a mathematical model of cell migration plasticity.
- Simulated migration in varying extracellular matrix structures and chemotactic gradients.
- Analyzed the impact of migration plasticity on invasion spread.
Main Results:
- Extracellular matrix structure and chemotactic gradients are key determinants of migration behavior.
- Migration plasticity significantly enhances invasion only in complex microenvironments (heterogeneous ECM, chemotactic gradient).
- These complex conditions are characteristic of in vivo tumor invasion.
Conclusions:
- Amoeboid-mesenchymal migration plasticity promotes more effective tumor invasion under specific, complex microenvironmental conditions.
- In vitro studies should incorporate microenvironmental complexity (ECM heterogeneity, chemical gradients) to accurately model tumor invasion.
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