Metastatic characteristics of tumor progression in Prostate Cancer, 1995

Tumor biologist have long appreciated that both cell to cell and cell to extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions are involved in the invasive and metastatic events that are characteristic of malignancy. Cancer cell attachment to and invasion of an ECM has been associated with metastatic potential of cell lines of the Dunning rat prostate model. It was postulated that differences observed in the metastatic potential of four Dunning cell lines may correlate with cell-matrix interactions. Four cell lines, highly metastatic ML, MLL, AT-3 and non-metastatic AT-1 were studied. The adhesive, invasive and chemoinvasive capability of each cell line was compared. Cell adhesion was examined by plating the cells on plastic dishes coated with various components of the ECM (fibronectin, laminin and collagen) as well as EHS Natrix (a natural ECM) . Invasion was determined by examining cells ability to traverse a matrigel barrier. Correlations were found between the cells' adhesive and invasive abilities in response to the ECM. These observations suggest that ECM components are highly involved in prostate cancer cell activities and loss may contribute to tumor progression and metastasis