Themotaxis of metastatic tumor cells

Abstract

A number of factors have been identified which are chemotactic for tumor cells. Recent studies have shown that, in addition to inducing directional motility in the Boyden chamber assay, these factors also induce a number of other responses. Included among these responses are cell swelling and foreign surface adhesiveness. The adherence response has been studied in detail using the Walker 256 carcinosarcoma cells and several other cell types. In the Walker cells, treatment with the C5a-derived tumor cell chemotactic peptide, the synthetic tripeptide, N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine or with 12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol ester induces a rapid, transient adherence response. The response is completely inhibited by several agents known to block the activity of phospholipase A 2 or the metabolism of arachidonic acid through the lipoxygenase pathway but is not inhibited by inhibition of the cychlooxygenase pathway. This suggests that lipoxygenase metabolites of arachidonic acid may actually mediate the adherence response.