Affiliation:
1. Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, TX 75390, USA
2. Hamon Center for Therapeutic Oncology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, TX 75390, USA
Abstract
Cellular locomotion is required for survival, fertility, proper embryonic development, regeneration, and wound healing. Cell migration is a major component of metastasis, which accounts for two-thirds of all solid tumor deaths. While many studies have demonstrated increased energy requirements, metabolic rates, and migration of cancer cells compared with normal cells, few have systematically compared normal and cancer cell migration as well as energy requirements side by side. Thus, we investigated how non-malignant and malignant cells migrate, utilizing several cell lines from the breast and lung. Initial screening was performed in an unbiased high-throughput manner for the ability to migrate/invade on collagen and/or Matrigel. We unexpectedly observed that all the non-malignant lung cells moved significantly faster than cells derived from lung tumors regardless of the growth media used. Given the paradigm-shifting nature of our discovery, we pursued the mechanisms that could be responsible. Neither mass, cell doubling, nor volume accounted for the individual speed and track length of the normal cells. Non-malignant cells had higher levels of intracellular ATP at premigratory-wound induction stages. Meanwhile, cancer cells also increased intracellular ATP at premigratory-wound induction, but not to the levels of the normal cells, indicating the possibility for further therapeutic investigation.
Funder
Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas
V Foundation
B.K. Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) Training Grant
assistance of the University of Texas Southwestern Tissue Management Shared Resource