Hydrodynamic Cellular Volume Changes Enable Glioma Cell Invasion

Malignant gliomas are highly invasive brain tumors that currently lack effective treatment. Unlike other cancers, gliomas do not metastasize via the vasculature but invade surrounding brain solely along extracellular routes, primarily moving along the vasculature and nerve tracts. This study uses several model systems to visualize and quantitatively assess cell volume changes of human glioma cells invading within the brain's extracellular space of C. B. 17 severe combined immunodeficient (scid) mice and tumor cells invading in a modified Boyden chamber using three-dimensional multiphoton and confocal time-lapse microscopy. Regardless of model system used to quantitatively assess volume changes, invading glioma cells maximally decreased their volume by 30-35%, a value that was independent of barrier and cell size. Through osmotic challenges, we demonstrate that the observed cellular volume changes during invasion represent the smallest achievable cell volume and require glioma cells to release all free unbound cytoplasmic water. Water osmotically follows the release of Cl(-) through ion channels and cotransporters and blockade of Cl(-) flux inhibits both volume changes and cell invasion. Hence, invading glioma cells use hydrodynamic volume changes to meet the spatial constraints imposed within the brain, using essentially all free, unbound cytoplasmic water to maximally alter their volume as they invade.