This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: A team from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center (The Institute) have discovered a new type of extracellular vesicle released by migrating cancer cells, revealing a previously unknown way in which these cells shed their DNA as they move. Published today in the journal Nature Cell Biology, the findings show that these cells release tiny structures called motile vesicles (MoVes), which carry their genetic material, including cancer-associated mutations.
The discovery raises important questions about the role these vesicles may play in cancer progression. "Extracellular vesicles, or EVs, have been studied for decades, yet we are still discovering entirely new ways in which cells produce and release them. Studying this new type of vesicle, which we've named MoVes, could uncover new mechanisms involved in cancer progression and ultimately reveal new therapeutic targets," says Julia Burnier, Ph.D., a scientist in the Cancer Research Program at The Institute and senior author of the study.
"What makes this discovery particularly exciting is that we were not looking for a new type of vesicle. We were trying to understand how cancer cells release DNA and unexpectedly uncovered a biological process through which migrating cancer cells release genetic material and communicate with their surroundings," says Thupten Tsering, first author of the study and a Ph.D. student in Burnier's laboratory at The Institute. Found in tissues as well as in biofluids like blood, saliva and urine, extracellular vesicles are tiny, bubble-like structures produced and released by virtually all human cells.
Once thought to be cellular waste, they are now known to play an important role in communication between cells, traveling throughout the body and carrying various molecules, including proteins, RNA and DNA, that can be transferred to other cells. In cancer, some of these vesicles can travel to distant organs, where they may alter the surrounding tissues and create conditions that favor the formation of metastases. In other cases, they can transfer cancer-related molecules to other cells, potentially making them resistant to chemotherapy or interfering with the immune system's ability to fight cancer.
To better understand how and why cancer cells produce and release vesicles containing tumor DNA, the team studied a range of cancerous and noncancerous cell lines using several experimental approaches, including genomic and proteomic analyses, alongside advanced imaging techniques like live-cell imaging and scanning electron microscopy. These in vitro experiments led to the unexpected discovery of MoVes. David Lyden, professor of pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, the researchers developed methods to separate MoVes from other EVs and began exploring their biological functions.
"Unlike previously described EVs, MoVes are specifically formed at the trailing edge of migrating cells through a distinct biological process. They are relatively large (2–5 µm) and carry the entire parental cell genome as well as functional organelles," says Tsering. Importantly, the researchers found that MoVes production was linked to a process called epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), which allows cells that normally stick together to become more mobile and invade surrounding tissues.
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