Commentary Cell Science Reviews Vol 6 No 3 ISSN 1742-8130

Transient activation of the TGFβ pathway drives the
heamatogenous dissemination of carcinoma cells

The dissemination of carcinoma cells during metastasis is initiated by the invasive migration of a single cell or a group of cells upon the activation of certain cellular pathways. One of these pro-migration signaling cascades is activated by the transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ). While many studies have shown that activation of the TGFβ pathway can stimulate migration, invasion and metastasis in various carcinoma models, it is unclear whether the TGFβ pathway is either uniformly activated to drive the cohesive migration of a group of tumor cells; heterogeneously activated to drive single tumor cell migration in vivo; or whether TGFβ signaling induces both heamatogenous and lymphatic metastasis. Utilizing innovative intravital imaging approaches, Giampieri and coworkers have provided unequivocal answers to these central questions. Their work also suggests that the growth inhibitory activity of TGFβ in epithelial tumor cells need not to be disabled for it to promote metastatic progression.

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