Invadopodia enable cooperative invasion and metastasis of breast cancer cells

This study investigates how cancer clones with varying invasive capabilities cooperate during invasion and metastasis using isogenic breast cancer cell lines 4T1 (invasive) and 67NR (non-invasive). It demonstrates that 4T1 cells sort to the spheroid-matrix interface, driving cooperative invasion, a process dependent on cell-matrix adhesions but independent of E-cadherin. Eliminating invadopodia in 4T1 cells blocks invasion, highlighting their role in leader cells. Importantly, the study shows that cells with and without invadopodia can engage in cooperative metastasis in preclinical models, suggesting a small number of invadopodia-positive cells can drive metastasis of heterogeneous cell clusters.

Louisiane Perrin, Elizaveta Belova, Battuya Bayarmagnai, Erkan Tüzel, Bojana Gligorijevic