| Autor: |
Lazova, Rossitza, Chakraborty, Ashok K., Pawelek, John M. |
| Zdroj: |
Cell Fusions; 2011, p351-394, 44p |
| Abstrakt: |
It is abundantly clear that metastasis – the migration of cancer cells from their site of origin to distant organs and tissues – is what makes cancer so deadly. It is therefore surprising that so little is known about its onset. We advocate that the century-old theory of cancer cell fusion with tumor-associated leucocytes such as macrophages is the only complete theory we have – potentially explaining most if not all aspects of metastasis, most notably its initiation. The fusion theory states that acquisition of a metastatic phenotype occurs when a healthy migratory leucocyte fuses with a primary tumor cell. The resultant hybrid adapts the white blood cell natural ability to migrate around the body, all the while continuing to go through the uncontrolled cell division of the original cancer cell. Here we review the evidence supporting these concepts. We further focus on autophagy, a common state of macrophages that is also a signature trait of experimental macrophage-melanoma hybrids in culture. We found autophagy to be widespread in pathology specimens of human malignant melanomas, suggesting that autophagy provides an alternate energy source to these tumors. It is proposed that autophagy in melanoma and other malignancies might be a reflection of fusion with myeloid cells. Thus pathways regulating autophagy as well as the fusion events themselves provide potential new targets for cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Databáze: |
Complementary Index |
| Externí odkaz: |
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