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Sieler M, Dittmar T. Cell Fusion and Syncytia Formation in Cancer. Results Probl Cell Differ 2024; 71:433-465. [PMID: 37996689 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-37936-9_20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2023]
Abstract
The natural phenomenon of cell-cell fusion does not only take place in physiological processes, such as placentation, myogenesis, or osteoclastogenesis, but also in pathophysiological processes, such as cancer. More than a century ago postulated, today the hypothesis that the fusion of cancer cells with normal cells leads to the formation of cancer hybrid cells with altered properties is in scientific consensus. Some studies that have investigated the mechanisms and conditions for the fusion of cancer cells with other cells, as well as studies that have characterized the resulting cancer hybrid cells, are presented in this review. Hypoxia and the cytokine TNFα, for example, have been found to promote cell fusion. In addition, it has been found that both the protein Syncytin-1, which normally plays a role in placentation, and phosphatidylserine signaling on the cell membrane are involved in the fusion of cancer cells with other cells. In human cancer, cancer hybrid cells were detected not only in the primary tumor, but also in the circulation of patients as so-called circulating hybrid cells, where they often correlated with a worse outcome. Although some data are available, the questions of how and especially why cancer cells fuse with other cells are still not fully answered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mareike Sieler
- Institute of Immunology, Center for Biomedical Education and Research (ZBAF), University of Witten/Herdecke, Witten, Germany.
| | - Thomas Dittmar
- Institute of Immunology, Center for Biomedical Education and Research (ZBAF), University of Witten/Herdecke, Witten, Germany
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D’Arino A, Caputo S, Eibenschutz L, Piemonte P, Buccini P, Frascione P, Bellei B. Skin Cancer Microenvironment: What We Can Learn from Skin Aging? Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:14043. [PMID: 37762344 PMCID: PMC10531546 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241814043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2023] [Revised: 08/30/2023] [Accepted: 09/09/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Aging is a natural intrinsic process associated with the loss of fibrous tissue, a slower cell turnover, and a reduction in immune system competence. In the skin, the continuous exposition of environmental factors superimposes extrinsic damage, mainly due to ultraviolet radiation causing photoaging. Although not usually considered a pathogenic event, photoaging affects cutaneous biology, increasing the risk of skin carcinogenesis. At the cellular level, aging is typified by the rise of senescence cells a condition characterized by reduced or absent capacity to proliferate and aberrant hyper-secretory activity. Senescence has a double-edged sword in cancer biology given that senescence prevents the uncontrolled proliferation of damaged cells and favors their clearance by paracrine secretion. Nevertheless, the cumulative insults and the poor clearance of injured cells in the elderly increase cancer incidence. However, there are not conclusive data proving that aged skin represents a permissive milieu for tumor onset. On the other hand, tumor cells are capable of activating resident fibroblasts onto a pro-tumorigenic phenotype resembling those of senescent fibroblasts suggesting that aged fibroblasts might facilitate cancer progression. This review discusses changes that occur during aging that can prime neoplasm or increase the aggressiveness of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea D’Arino
- Oncologic and Preventative Dermatology, San Gallicano Dermatological Institute, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico IRCCS, 00141 Rome, Italy
| | - Silvia Caputo
- Laboratory of Cutaneous Physiopathology and Integrated Center of Metabolomics Research, San Gallicano Dermatological Institute, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico IRCCS, 00141 Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Eibenschutz
- Oncologic and Preventative Dermatology, San Gallicano Dermatological Institute, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico IRCCS, 00141 Rome, Italy
| | - Paolo Piemonte
- Oncologic and Preventative Dermatology, San Gallicano Dermatological Institute, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico IRCCS, 00141 Rome, Italy
| | - Pierluigi Buccini
- Oncologic and Preventative Dermatology, San Gallicano Dermatological Institute, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico IRCCS, 00141 Rome, Italy
| | - Pasquale Frascione
- Oncologic and Preventative Dermatology, San Gallicano Dermatological Institute, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico IRCCS, 00141 Rome, Italy
| | - Barbara Bellei
- Laboratory of Cutaneous Physiopathology and Integrated Center of Metabolomics Research, San Gallicano Dermatological Institute, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico IRCCS, 00141 Rome, Italy
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Generation of Cancer Stem/Initiating Cells by Cell-Cell Fusion. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23094514. [PMID: 35562905 PMCID: PMC9101717 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23094514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2022] [Revised: 04/10/2022] [Accepted: 04/17/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
CS/ICs have raised great expectations in cancer research and therapy, as eradication of this key cancer cell type is expected to lead to a complete cure. Unfortunately, the biology of CS/ICs is rather complex, since no common CS/IC marker has yet been identified. Certain surface markers or ALDH1 expression can be used for detection, but some studies indicated that cancer cells exhibit a certain plasticity, so CS/ICs can also arise from non-CS/ICs. Another problem is intratumoral heterogeneity, from which it can be inferred that different CS/IC subclones must be present in the tumor. Cell–cell fusion between cancer cells and normal cells, such as macrophages and stem cells, has been associated with the generation of tumor hybrids that can exhibit novel properties, such as an enhanced metastatic capacity and even CS/IC properties. Moreover, cell–cell fusion is a complex process in which parental chromosomes are mixed and randomly distributed among daughter cells, resulting in multiple, unique tumor hybrids. These, if they have CS/IC properties, may contribute to the heterogeneity of the CS/IC pool. In this review, we will discuss whether cell–cell fusion could also lead to the origin of different CS/ICs that may expand the overall CS/IC pool in a primary tumor.
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Hybrid Formation and Fusion of Cancer Cells In Vitro and In Vivo. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:cancers13174496. [PMID: 34503305 PMCID: PMC8431460 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13174496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2021] [Revised: 09/02/2021] [Accepted: 09/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Cell fusion as a fundamental biological process is required for various physiological processes, including fertilization, placentation, myogenesis, osteoclastogenesis, and wound healing/tissue regeneration. However, cell fusion is also observed during pathophysiological processes like tumor development. Mesenchymal stroma/stem-like cells (MSC) which play an important role within the tumor microenvironment like other cell types such as macrophages can closely interact and hybridize with cancer cells. The formation of cancer hybrid cells can involve various different mechanisms whereby the genomic parts of the hybrid cells require rearrangement to form a new functional hybrid cell. The fusion of cancer cells with neighboring cell types may represent an important mechanism during tumor development since cancer hybrid cells are detectable in various tumor tissues. During this rare event with resulting genomic instability the cancer hybrid cells undergo a post-hybrid selection process (PHSP) to reorganize chromosomes of the two parental nuclei whereby the majority of the hybrid population undergoes cell death. The remaining cancer hybrid cells survive by displaying altered properties within the tumor tissue. Abstract The generation of cancer hybrid cells by intra-tumoral cell fusion opens new avenues for tumor plasticity to develop cancer stem cells with altered properties, to escape from immune surveillance, to change metastatic behavior, and to broaden drug responsiveness/resistance. Genomic instability and chromosomal rearrangements in bi- or multinucleated aneuploid cancer hybrid cells contribute to these new functions. However, the significance of cell fusion in tumorigenesis is controversial with respect to the low frequency of cancer cell fusion events and a clonal advantage of surviving cancer hybrid cells following a post-hybrid selection process. This review highlights alternative processes of cancer hybrid cell development such as entosis, emperipolesis, cannibalism, therapy-induced polyploidization/endoreduplication, horizontal or lateral gene transfer, and focusses on the predominant mechanisms of cell fusion. Based upon new properties of cancer hybrid cells the arising clinical consequences of the subsequent tumor heterogeneity after cancer cell fusion represent a major therapeutic challenge.
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Sieler M, Weiler J, Dittmar T. Cell-Cell Fusion and the Roads to Novel Properties of Tumor Hybrid Cells. Cells 2021; 10:cells10061465. [PMID: 34207991 PMCID: PMC8230653 DOI: 10.3390/cells10061465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2021] [Revised: 06/07/2021] [Accepted: 06/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The phenomenon of cancer cell–cell fusion is commonly associated with the origin of more malignant tumor cells exhibiting novel properties, such as increased drug resistance or an enhanced metastatic capacity. However, the whole process of cell–cell fusion is still not well understood and seems to be rather inefficient since only a certain number of (cancer) cells are capable of fusing and only a rather small population of fused tumor hybrids will survive at all. The low survivability of tumor hybrids is attributed to post-fusion processes, which are characterized by the random segregation of mixed parental chromosomes, the induction of aneuploidy and further random chromosomal aberrations and genetic/epigenetic alterations in daughter cells. As post-fusion processes also run in a unique manner in surviving tumor hybrids, the occurrence of novel properties could thus also be a random event, whereby it might be speculated that the tumor microenvironment and its spatial habitats could direct evolving tumor hybrids towards a specific phenotype.
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Zhou Y, Cheng JT, Feng ZX, Wang YY, Zhang Y, Cai WQ, Han ZW, Wang XW, Xiang Y, Yang HY, Liu BR, Peng XC, Cui SZ, Xin HW. Could gastrointestinal tumor-initiating cells originate from cell-cell fusion in vivo? World J Gastrointest Oncol 2021; 13:92-108. [PMID: 33643526 PMCID: PMC7896421 DOI: 10.4251/wjgo.v13.i2.92] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2020] [Revised: 12/25/2020] [Accepted: 01/28/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Tumor-initiating cells (TICs) or cancer stem cells are believed to be responsible for gastrointestinal tumor initiation, progression, metastasis, and drug resistance. It is hypothesized that gastrointestinal TICs (giTICs) might originate from cell-cell fusion. Here, we systemically evaluate the evidence that supports or opposes the hypothesis of giTIC generation from cell-cell fusion both in vitro and in vivo. We review giTICs that are capable of initiating tumors in vivo with 5000 or fewer in vivo fused cells. Under this restriction, there is currently little evidence demonstrating that giTICs originate from cell-cell fusion in vivo. However, there are many reports showing that tumor generation in vitro occurs with more than 5000 fused cells. In addition, the mechanisms of giTIC generation via cell-cell fusion are poorly understood, and thus, we propose its potential mechanisms of action. We suggest that future research should focus on giTIC origination from cell-cell fusion in vivo, isolation or enrichment of giTICs that have tumor-initiating capabilities with 5000 or less in vivo fused cells, and further clarification of the underlying mechanisms. Our review of the current advances in our understanding of giTIC origination from cell-cell fusion may have significant implications for the understanding of carcinogenesis and future cancer therapeutic strategies targeting giTICs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Zhou
- Laboratory of Oncology, Center for Molecular Medicine, School of Basic Medicine, Health Science Center, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434023, Hubei Province, China
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medicine, Health Science Center, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434023, Hubei Province, China
| | - Jun-Ting Cheng
- Laboratory of Oncology, Center for Molecular Medicine, School of Basic Medicine, Health Science Center, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434023, Hubei Province, China
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medicine, Health Science Center, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434023, Hubei Province, China
| | - Zi-Xian Feng
- Department of Oncology and Haematology, Lianjiang People's Hospital, Guangzhou 524400, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Ying-Ying Wang
- Laboratory of Oncology, Center for Molecular Medicine, School of Basic Medicine, Health Science Center, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434023, Hubei Province, China
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medicine, Health Science Center, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434023, Hubei Province, China
| | - Ying Zhang
- Laboratory of Oncology, Center for Molecular Medicine, School of Basic Medicine, Health Science Center, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434023, Hubei Province, China
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medicine, Health Science Center, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434023, Hubei Province, China
| | - Wen-Qi Cai
- Laboratory of Oncology, Center for Molecular Medicine, School of Basic Medicine, Health Science Center, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434023, Hubei Province, China
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medicine, Health Science Center, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434023, Hubei Province, China
| | - Zi-Wen Han
- Laboratory of Oncology, Center for Molecular Medicine, School of Basic Medicine, Health Science Center, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434023, Hubei Province, China
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medicine, Health Science Center, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434023, Hubei Province, China
| | - Xian-Wang Wang
- Laboratory of Oncology, Center for Molecular Medicine, School of Basic Medicine, Health Science Center, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434023, Hubei Province, China
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medicine, Health Science Center, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434023, Hubei Province, China
| | - Ying Xiang
- Laboratory of Oncology, Center for Molecular Medicine, School of Basic Medicine, Health Science Center, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434023, Hubei Province, China
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medicine, Health Science Center, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434023, Hubei Province, China
| | - Hui-Yu Yang
- Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450000, Henan Province, China
| | - Bing-Rong Liu
- Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450000, Henan Province, China
| | - Xiao-Chun Peng
- Laboratory of Oncology, Center for Molecular Medicine, School of Basic Medicine, Health Science Center, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434023, Hubei Province, China
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Health Science Center, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434023, Hubei Province, China
| | - Shu-Zhong Cui
- State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, Affiliated Cancer Hospital Institute of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510095, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Hong-Wu Xin
- Laboratory of Oncology, Center for Molecular Medicine, School of Basic Medicine, Health Science Center, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434023, Hubei Province, China
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medicine, Health Science Center, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434023, Hubei Province, China
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Cell Fusion of Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cells and Breast Cancer Cells Leads to the Formation of Hybrid Cells Exhibiting Diverse and Individual (Stem Cell) Characteristics. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21249636. [PMID: 33348862 PMCID: PMC7765946 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21249636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2020] [Revised: 12/11/2020] [Accepted: 12/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Cancer is one of the most common diseases worldwide, and treatment bears many challenges such as drug and radioresistance and formation of metastases. These difficulties are due to tumor heterogeneity, which has many origins. One may be cell fusion, a process that is relevant in both physiological (e.g., wound healing) and pathophysiological (cancer and viral infection) processes. In this study, we examined if cell fusion between mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) and breast cancer (BC) cells occurs and if newly generated hybrid cells may exhibit cancer stem/initiating cell (CS/IC) characteristics. Therefore, several methods such as mammosphere assay, AldeRed assay, flow cytometry (CD24, CD44, CD104) and Western blot analysis (of epithelial to mesenchymal transition markers such as SNAIL, SLUG and Twist) were applied. In short, four different hybrid clones, verified by short tandem repeat (STR) analysis, were analyzed; each expressed an individual phenotype that seemed not to be explicitly related to either a more stem cell or cancer cell phenotype. These results show that cancer cells and MSCs are able to fuse spontaneously in vitro, thereby giving rise to hybrid cells with new properties, which likely indicate that cell fusion may be a trigger for tumor heterogeneity.
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Circulating Giant Tumor-Macrophage Fusion Cells Are Independent Prognosticators in Patients With NSCLC. J Thorac Oncol 2020; 15:1460-1471. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jtho.2020.04.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2020] [Revised: 04/09/2020] [Accepted: 04/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
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Manjunath Y, Porciani D, Mitchem JB, Suvilesh KN, Avella DM, Kimchi ET, Staveley-O’Carroll KF, Burke DH, Li G, Kaifi JT. Tumor-Cell-Macrophage Fusion Cells as Liquid Biomarkers and Tumor Enhancers in Cancer. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:E1872. [PMID: 32182935 PMCID: PMC7084898 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21051872] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2020] [Revised: 03/06/2020] [Accepted: 03/07/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Although molecular mechanisms driving tumor progression have been extensively studied, the biological nature of the various populations of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) within the blood is still not well understood. Tumor cell fusion with immune cells is a longstanding hypothesis that has caught more attention in recent times. Specifically, fusion of tumor cells with macrophages might lead to the development of metastasis by acquiring features such as genetic and epigenetic heterogeneity, chemotherapeutic resistance, and immune tolerance. In addition to the traditional FDA-approved definition of a CTC (CD45-, EpCAM+, cytokeratins 8+, 18+ or 19+, with a DAPI+ nucleus), an additional circulating cell population has been identified as being potential fusions cells, characterized by distinct, large, polymorphonuclear cancer-associated cells with a dual epithelial and macrophage/myeloid phenotype. Artificial fusion of tumor cells with macrophages leads to migratory, invasive, and metastatic phenotypes. Further studies might investigate whether these have a potential impact on the immune response towards the cancer. In this review, the background, evidence, and potential relevance of tumor cell fusions with macrophages is discussed, along with the potential role of intercellular connections in their formation. Such fusion cells could be a key component in cancer metastasis, and therefore, evolve as a diagnostic and therapeutic target in cancer precision medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yariswamy Manjunath
- Department of Surgery, Ellis Fischel Cancer Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65212, USA; (Y.M.); (J.B.M.); (K.N.S.); (D.M.A.); (E.T.K.); (K.F.S.-O.); (G.L.)
- Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans’ Hospital, Columbia, MO 65201, USA
| | - David Porciani
- Department of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65212, USA; (D.P.); (D.H.B.)
- Bond Life Sciences Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65212, USA
| | - Jonathan B. Mitchem
- Department of Surgery, Ellis Fischel Cancer Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65212, USA; (Y.M.); (J.B.M.); (K.N.S.); (D.M.A.); (E.T.K.); (K.F.S.-O.); (G.L.)
- Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans’ Hospital, Columbia, MO 65201, USA
| | - Kanve N. Suvilesh
- Department of Surgery, Ellis Fischel Cancer Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65212, USA; (Y.M.); (J.B.M.); (K.N.S.); (D.M.A.); (E.T.K.); (K.F.S.-O.); (G.L.)
| | - Diego M. Avella
- Department of Surgery, Ellis Fischel Cancer Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65212, USA; (Y.M.); (J.B.M.); (K.N.S.); (D.M.A.); (E.T.K.); (K.F.S.-O.); (G.L.)
- Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans’ Hospital, Columbia, MO 65201, USA
| | - Eric T. Kimchi
- Department of Surgery, Ellis Fischel Cancer Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65212, USA; (Y.M.); (J.B.M.); (K.N.S.); (D.M.A.); (E.T.K.); (K.F.S.-O.); (G.L.)
- Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans’ Hospital, Columbia, MO 65201, USA
| | - Kevin F. Staveley-O’Carroll
- Department of Surgery, Ellis Fischel Cancer Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65212, USA; (Y.M.); (J.B.M.); (K.N.S.); (D.M.A.); (E.T.K.); (K.F.S.-O.); (G.L.)
- Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans’ Hospital, Columbia, MO 65201, USA
| | - Donald H. Burke
- Department of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65212, USA; (D.P.); (D.H.B.)
- Bond Life Sciences Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65212, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65212, USA
| | - Guangfu Li
- Department of Surgery, Ellis Fischel Cancer Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65212, USA; (Y.M.); (J.B.M.); (K.N.S.); (D.M.A.); (E.T.K.); (K.F.S.-O.); (G.L.)
- Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans’ Hospital, Columbia, MO 65201, USA
- Department of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65212, USA; (D.P.); (D.H.B.)
| | - Jussuf T. Kaifi
- Department of Surgery, Ellis Fischel Cancer Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65212, USA; (Y.M.); (J.B.M.); (K.N.S.); (D.M.A.); (E.T.K.); (K.F.S.-O.); (G.L.)
- Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans’ Hospital, Columbia, MO 65201, USA
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Tumor Microenvironment and Cell Fusion. BIOMED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2019; 2019:5013592. [PMID: 31380426 PMCID: PMC6657644 DOI: 10.1155/2019/5013592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2019] [Revised: 06/06/2019] [Accepted: 06/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Cell fusion is a highly regulated biological process that occurs under both physiological and pathological conditions. The cellular and extracellular environment is critical for the induction of the cell-cell fusion. Aberrant cell fusion is initiated during tumor progression. Tumor microenvironment is a complex dynamic system formed by the interaction between tumor cells and their surrounding cells. Cell-cell fusion mediates direct interaction between tumor cells and their surrounding cells and is associated with tumor initiation and progression. Various microenvironmental factors affect cell fusion in tumor microenvironment and generate hybrids that acquire genomes of both parental cells and exhibit novel characteristics, such as tumor stem cell-like properties, radioresistance, drug resistance, immune evasion, and enhanced migration and invasion abilities, which are closely related to the initiation, invasion, and metastasis of tumor. The phenotypic characteristics of hybrids are based on the phenotypes of parental cells, and the fusion of tumor cells with diverse types of microenvironmental fusogenic cells is concomitant with phenotypic heterogeneity. This review highlights the types of fusogenic cells in tumor microenvironment that can fuse with tumor cells and their specific significance and summarizes the various microenvironmental factors affecting tumor cell fusion. This review may be used as a reference to develop strategies for future research on tumor cell fusion and the exploration of cell fusion-based antitumor therapies.
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Fusion-mediated chromosomal instability promotes aneuploidy patterns that resemble human tumors. Oncogene 2019; 38:6083-6094. [PMID: 31270395 DOI: 10.1038/s41388-019-0859-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2019] [Revised: 04/04/2019] [Accepted: 04/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Oncogenesis is considered to result from chromosomal instability, in addition to oncogene and tumor-suppressor alterations. Intermediate to aneuploidy and chromosomal instability, genome doubling is a frequent event in tumor development but the mechanisms driving tetraploidization and its impact remain unexplored. Cell fusion, one of the pathways to tetraploidy, is a physiological process involved in mesenchymal cell differentiation. Besides simple genome doubling, cell fusion results in the merging of two different genomes that can be destabilized upon proliferation. By testing whether cell fusion is involved in mesenchymal oncogenesis, we provide evidence that it induces genomic instability and mediates tumor initiation. After a latency period, the tumor emerges with the cells most suited for its development. Furthermore, hybrid tumor genomes were stabilized after this selection process and were very close to those of human pleomorphic mesenchymal tumors. Thus genome restructuring triggered by cell fusion may account for the chromosomal instability involved in oncogenesis.
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Weiler J, Dittmar T. Cell Fusion in Human Cancer: The Dark Matter Hypothesis. Cells 2019; 8:E132. [PMID: 30736482 PMCID: PMC6407028 DOI: 10.3390/cells8020132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2018] [Revised: 02/01/2019] [Accepted: 02/04/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Current strategies to determine tumor × normal (TN)-hybrid cells among human cancer cells include the detection of hematopoietic markers and other mesodermal markers on tumor cells or the presence of donor DNA in cancer samples from patients who had previously received an allogenic bone marrow transplant. By doing so, several studies have demonstrated that TN-hybrid cells could be found in human cancers. However, a prerequisite of this cell fusion search strategy is that such markers are stably expressed by TN-hybrid cells over time. However, cell fusion is a potent inducer of genomic instability, and TN-hybrid cells may lose these cell fusion markers, thereby becoming indistinguishable from nonfused tumor cells. In addition, hybrid cells can evolve from homotypic fusion events between tumor cells or from heterotypic fusion events between tumor cells and normal cells possessing similar markers, which would also be indistinguishable from nonfused tumor cells. Such indistinguishable or invisible hybrid cells will be referred to as dark matter hybrids, which cannot as yet be detected and quantified, but which contribute to tumor growth and progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julian Weiler
- Chair of Immunology, Center for Biomedical Education and Research (ZBAF), Witten/Herdecke University, Stockumer Str. 10, 58448 Witten, Germany.
| | - Thomas Dittmar
- Chair of Immunology, Center for Biomedical Education and Research (ZBAF), Witten/Herdecke University, Stockumer Str. 10, 58448 Witten, Germany.
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LaBerge GS, Duvall E, Grasmick Z, Haedicke K, Pawelek J. A Melanoma Lymph Node Metastasis with a Donor-Patient Hybrid Genome following Bone Marrow Transplantation: A Second Case of Leucocyte-Tumor Cell Hybridization in Cancer Metastasis. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0168581. [PMID: 28146572 PMCID: PMC5287451 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0168581] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2016] [Accepted: 12/02/2016] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Metastatic disease is the principal cause of mortality in cancer, yet the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. Macrophage-cancer cell fusion as a cause of metastasis was proposed more than a century ago by German pathologist Prof. Otto Aichel. Since then this theory has been confirmed in numerous animal studies and recently in a patient with metastatic melanoma. METHODS Here we analyzed tumor DNA from a 51-year-old man who, 8 years following an allogeneic BMT from his brother for treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), developed a nodular malignant melanoma on the upper back with spread to an axillary sentinal lymph node. We used laser microdissection to isolate FFPE tumor cells free of leucocytes. They were genotyped using forensic short tandem repeat (STR) length-polymorphisms to distinguish donor and patient genomes. Tumor and pre-transplant blood lymphocyte DNAs were analyzed for donor and patient alleles at 15 autosomal STR loci and the sex chromosomes. RESULTS DNA analysis of the primary melanoma and the nodal metastasis exhibit alleles at each STR locus that are consistent with both the patient and donor. The doses vary between these samples indicative of the relative amounts of genomic DNA derived from the patient and donor. CONCLUSION The evidence supports fusion and hybridization between donor and patient cells as the initiator of metastasis in this patient. That this phenomenon has now been seen in a second case suggests that fusion is likely to play a significant role for melanoma and other solid tumor metastasis, perhaps leading to new avenues of treatment for this most problematic disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Greggory S. LaBerge
- Human Medical Genetics and Genomics Program, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, United States of America
- Denver Police Crime Lab-Forensics and Evidence Division, Denver, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Eric Duvall
- Denver Police Crime Lab-Forensics and Evidence Division, Denver, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Zachary Grasmick
- Department of Pathology, University of Colorado AMC, Denver, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Kay Haedicke
- Department of Internal Medicine Section of Medical Oncology and the Yale Cancer Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - John Pawelek
- Department of Dermatology and The Yale Cancer Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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