Identification of metastatic cell nucleus in human prostate cancer by electron microscopy

Metastatic prostate cancer is responsible for a large proportion of deaths worldwide. The aim of this study was to identify metastatic cells and determine if stromal invasion by cancer cells differs from those during metastasis.

Tissue biopsy/prostatectomy samples, visualized by transmission electron microscopy, identified that metastatic cells are a lineage of stem cells, which have dedifferentiated into cancerous columnar/cuboidal cells. These cells demonstrate nuclear plasticity; the loss of nuclear membranes and boundary between nucleus and cytoplasm; and the presence of electron dense molecules, which can readily pass through basement membranes and enter the capillary, ready for dissemination to metastatic sites.

This is the first study to demonstrate differences between invasive and metastatic cell types.