Cell-Taxi: Mesenchymal Cells Carry and Transport Clusters of Cancer Cells

Cell clusters that collectively migrate from primary tumors appear to be far more potent in forming distant metastases than single cancer cells. A better understanding of the collective cell migration phenomenon and the involvement of various cell types during this process is needed. Here, an in vitro platform based on inverted-pyramidal microwells to follow and quantify the collective migration of hundreds of tumor cell clusters at once is developed. These results indicate that mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) or cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in the heterotypic tumor cell clusters may facilitate metastatic dissemination by transporting low-motile cancer cells in a Rac-dependent manner and that extracellular vesicles secreted by mesenchymal cells only play a minor role in this process. Furthermore, in vivo studies show that cancer cell spheroids containing MSCs or CAFs have faster spreading rates. These findings highlight the active role of co-traveling stromal cells in the collective migration of tumor cell clusters and may help in developing better-targeted therapies.