Fusion between tumor cells enhances melanoma metastatic potential

Abstract

We developed a highly efficient cell fusion method that can be applied in many fields, particularly cancer research. Our study has proven that tumor-tumor cell fusion hybrids in melanoma can acquire enhanced and specific metastatic potential. Thus, blockage of cell fusion may be a new strategy for melanoma metastasis therapy.

The Fate of Fusions

“…There are a number of experimental reports indicating that tumor cell fusions may promote more aggressive behavior [30,31,32,33], although this is not universal [34]. We have performed transplantation experiments in nude mice using MTFs cultured from the blood of melanoma and PDAC patients.…”

Cell-cell fusion as a mechanism of DNA exchange in cancer

“…Based on this hypothesis, hybrid cells are more likely to possess characteristics that would allow for the progressive growth of cancer compared to non-hybrid cells. These characteristics include rapid proliferation [ 9 ], cancer stem-cell formation [ 10 ], resistance to chemotherapeutics [ 11 , 12 ], and metastasis [ 13 , 14 ], among others. Fusion has been reported to occur in many types of cancer, including breast, melanoma, sarcoma, glioblastoma, renal cell carcinoma, and ovarian carcinoma [ 15 , 16 ].…”

“…However, only few studies have quantified cell-cell fusion in vivo [ 17 ], and to our knowledge, none have clearly identified which non-cancer cells are capable of fusing with cancer cells in vivo . While definitive evidence linking cell fusion to cancer progression in humans is lacking, it has become increasingly clear using animal models that cell fusion plays a physiologically relevant role in the progression of cancer [ 18 ], especially as it relates to metastasis [ 19 , 20 ], drug resistance [ 21 ], and cancer stem cell formation [ 9 , 10 ].…”

Pathogenic Features of Liver Metastasis: The Complex Cancer Cell: Cancer Cell, and Cancer Cell – Microenvironment Interactomes

“…Fusion of tumor cells, also in vivo, can alter the biological behavior of the cells and effect invasion and spread. Spontaneous fusion of two mouse tumor cell subpopulations resulted in a more aggressive tumor cell variant (Miller et al 1989), in part with enhanced metastatic potential (Mi et al 2012), but loss of malignancy of hybrids derived from two murine malignant cell lines has also been observed (Jami and Ritz 1975). A predominance of a metastatic phenotype has been observed in hybrids formed by fusion of mouse and human melanoma cells (van Golen et al 1996).…”