Efficient acquisition of dual metastasis organotropism to bone and lung through stable spontaneous fusion between MDA-MB-231 variants

Xin Lu, Yibin Kang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

102 Scopus citations

Abstract

Cell fusion is involved in many critical developmental processes, including zygote formation and organogenesis of placenta, bone, and skeletal muscle. In adult tissues, cell fusion has been shown to play an active role in tissue regeneration and repair, and its frequency of occurrence is significantly increased during chronic inflammation. Fusion between tumor cells and normal cells, or among tumor cells themselves, has also been speculated to contribute to tumor initiation, as well as phenotypic evolution during cancer progression and metastasis. Here, we show that dual metastasis organotropisms can be acquired in the same cell through in vitro or in vivo spontaneous fusion between bone- and lung-tropic sublines of the MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cell line. The synkaryonic hybrids assimilate organ-specific metastasis gene signatures from both parental cells and are genetically and phenotypically stable. Our study suggests cell fusion as an efficient means of phenotypic evolution during tumor progression and additionally demonstrates the compatibility of different metastasis organotropisms.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)9385-9390
Number of pages6
JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume106
Issue number23
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 9 2009

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General

Keywords

  • Breast cancer
  • Cell fusion
  • Centrosome
  • Genomic instability
  • Nuclear reprogramming

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