Live tumor imaging shows macrophage induction and TMEM-mediated enrichment of cancer stem cells during metastatic dissemination

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) play an important role during metastasis, but the dynamic behavior and induction mechanisms of CSCs are not well understood. Here, we employ high-resolution intravital microscopy using a CSC biosensor to directly observe CSCs in live mice with mammary tumors. CSCs display the slow-migratory, invadopod-rich phenotype that is the hallmark of disseminating tumor cells. CSCs are enriched near macrophages, particularly near macrophage-containing intravasation sites called Tumor Microenvironment of Metastasis (TMEM) doorways. Substantial enrichment of CSCs occurs on association with TMEM doorways, contributing to the finding that CSCs represent >60% of circulating tumor cells. Mechanistically, stemness is induced in non-stem cancer cells upon their direct contact with macrophages via Notch-Jagged signaling. In breast cancers from patients, the density of TMEM doorways correlates with the proportion of cancer cells expressing stem cell markers, indicating that in human breast cancer TMEM doorways are not only cancer cell intravasation portals but also CSC programming sites. Intravital imaging reveals macrophage-driven de novo induction of cancer stem cells in vivo, and their dramatic enrichment on dissemination through TMEM doorways. These findings provide a mechanism for the validated ability of TMEM doorway density to be prognostic for distant recurrence of metastatic tumors in breast cancer patients.

Automated summary

Research has shown that cancer stem cells (CSCs) play an important role in tumor metastasis, with non-stem cancer cells induced to become stem cells through direct contact with macrophages. In human breast cancer, TMEM doorways are not only entry portals for cancer cell intravasation, but also sites for CSC programming.