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Phenotypic plasticity underlies local invasion and distant metastasis in colon cancer
- Source :
- eLife, eLife, 10:e61461. eLife Sciences Publications, eLife, Vol 10 (2021)
- Publication Year :
- 2021
- Publisher :
- eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd, 2021.
-
Abstract
- Phenotypic plasticity represents the most relevant hallmark of the carcinoma cell as it bestows it with the capacity of transiently altering its morphological and functional features while en route to the metastatic site. However, the study of phenotypic plasticity is hindered by the rarity of these events within primary lesions and by the lack of experimental models. Here, we identified a subpopulation of phenotypic plastic colon cancer cells: EpCAMlo cells are motile, invasive, chemo-resistant, and highly metastatic. EpCAMlo bulk and single-cell RNAseq analysis indicated (1) enhanced Wnt/β-catenin signaling, (2) a broad spectrum of degrees of epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) activation including hybrid E/M states (partial EMT) with highly plastic features, and (3) high correlation with the CMS4 subtype, accounting for colon cancer cases with poor prognosis and a pronounced stromal component. Of note, a signature of genes specifically expressed in EpCAMlo cancer cells is highly predictive of overall survival in tumors other than CMS4, thus highlighting the relevance of quasi-mesenchymal tumor cells across the spectrum of colon cancers. Enhanced Wnt and the downstream EMT activation represent key events in eliciting phenotypic plasticity along the invasive front of primary colon carcinomas. Distinct sets of epithelial and mesenchymal genes define transcriptional trajectories through which state transitions arise. pEMT cells, often earmarked by the extracellular matrix glycoprotein SPARC together with nuclear ZEB1 and β-catenin along the invasive front of primary colon carcinomas, are predicted to represent the origin of these (de)differentiation routes through biologically distinct cellular states and to underlie the phenotypic plasticity of colon cancer cells.
- Subjects :
- Male
0301 basic medicine
Colorectal cancer
Cell Plasticity
phenotypic plasticity
0302 clinical medicine
Cell Movement
Mice, Inbred NOD
Osteonectin
Biology (General)
Neoplasm Metastasis
Wnt Signaling Pathway
beta Catenin
Cancer Biology
General Neuroscience
Wnt signaling pathway
General Medicine
Epithelial Cell Adhesion Molecule
Phenotype
colon cancer
partial EMT
030220 oncology & carcinogenesis
Colonic Neoplasms
Medicine
Female
Research Article
Human
Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition
Stromal cell
QH301-705.5
Science
Biology
Disease-Free Survival
General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
03 medical and health sciences
SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
medicine
Animals
Humans
Neoplasm Invasiveness
Epithelial–mesenchymal transition
Gene
Phenotypic plasticity
General Immunology and Microbiology
Mesenchymal stem cell
Zinc Finger E-box-Binding Homeobox 1
HCT116 Cells
medicine.disease
030104 developmental biology
Drug Resistance, Neoplasm
Cancer cell
Cancer research
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 2050084X
- Volume :
- 10
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- eLife
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....7c806c0a386ddde804b401f8c7419756
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.61461