肿瘤细胞靶器官特异性捕获和黏附行为的研究进展

肿瘤转移是恶性肿瘤的主要生物学特征,是引起癌症患者死亡的重要原因。肿瘤转移的发生是一个复杂的动态过程,涉及到血管、淋巴道和转移器官微环境等诸多因素调控。在其血管途径的转移过程中,微血管内肿瘤细胞的靶器官特异性捕获和黏附是肿瘤在特定器官内转移形成的关键性步骤。为更好地了解和认识肿瘤细胞捕获和黏附行为及肿瘤转移形成的机制,本文就微血管内肿瘤细胞捕获和黏附研究中的理论假说、研究方法及其生物力学、内皮细胞和趋化因子等调控因素的研究进展进行了简要的综述,并归纳了该领域内若干可供探索的途径和新方向。

Advances in the study on organ specific arrest and adhesion of metastatic tumor cells

Tumor metastasis, the main biological characteristic of malignance tumor, is the important cause of death for most cancer patients. The process of tumor metastasis is complex and involves a dynamic combination of vessel, lymphatic system and microenvironment of metastatic organ. Organ specific arrest and adhesion of tumor cells within microvessels of potential target organs is a vital step during the formation of blood borne metastasis. In this article, recent studies on the organ specific arrest and adhesion of circulating tumor cells were comprehensively summarized focusing on the related theory, hypothesis and methodology including the model employed and the research methods involved. The article also discussed the biomechanical factors, endothelial cells and chemokines regulating the arrest and adhesion of circulating tumor cells, and pointed out some recent new phenomena as well as new approaches and directions worthy of investigation.