Tumor Cells Can Mimic Blood Vessels, Helping Cancer Spread (IMAGE)

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Tumor Cells Can Mimic Blood Vessels, Helping Cancer Spread

Caption

This image shows two adjacent sections of a mouse breast tumor. The tissue at left is stained so that normal blood vessels can be seen (black arrow); extending from these vessels are blood filled channels (green arrows). On the right, the tissue is stained for a fluorescent protein expressed by the tumor cells. Here it is seen that blood-filled channels are actually formed by tumor cells in a process known as vascular mimicry. The team demonstrate that the tumor cells lining these channels help drive metastasis, the process by which tumors spread.

Credit

Hannon Lab, CSHL

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