Breast cancer cells disseminate through TIE2/MENA^Calc/MENA^INV-dependent cancer cell intravasation sites, called tumor microenvironment of metastasis (TMEM), which are clinically validated as prognostic markers of metastasis in breast cancer patients. Using fixed tissue and intravital imaging of a PyMT murine model and patient-derived xenografts, we show that chemotherapy increases the density and activity of TMEM sites and Mena expression and promotes distant metastasis. Moreover, in the residual breast cancers of patients treated with neoadjuvant paclitaxel after doxorubicin plus cyclophosphamide, TMEM score and its mechanistically connected MENA^INV isoform expression pattern were both increased, suggesting that chemotherapy, despite decreasing tumor size, increases the risk of metastatic dissemination. Chemotherapy-induced TMEM activity and cancer cell dissemination were reversed by either administration of the TIE2 inhibitor rebastinib or knockdown of the MENA gene. Our results indicate that TMEM score increases and MENA isoform expression pattern changes with chemotherapy and can be used in predicting prometastatic changes in response to chemotherapy. Furthermore, inhibitors of TMEM function may improve clinical benefits of chemotherapy in the neoadjuvant setting or in metastatic disease.

This study identifies the actin-binding protein, coronin-1a, as a novel and effective immunohistochemical marker for microglia in both cell cultures and in formaldehyde-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue. Antibodies to coronin-1a effectively immunostained microglia in human, monkey, horse, rat, and mouse tissues, even in tissues stored for long periods of time. The identity of coronin-1a-immunoreactive cells as microglia was confirmed using double immunolabeling with cell type-specific markers as well as by morphological features and the distribution of immunoreactive cells. These properties are shared by another actin-binding protein, IBA-1. Unlike IBA-1, coronin-1a immunoreactivity was also detected in lymphocytes and certain other hematopoietic cells. The results indicate that both coronin-1a and IBA-1 are robust markers for microglia that can be used in routinely processed tissue of humans and animals. Because both coronin-1a and IBA-1 are actin-binding proteins that play a role in rearrangement of the membrane cytoskeleton, it suggests that these proteins are critical to dynamic properties of microglia.

Most cancer patients die as a result of metastasis, thus it is important to understand the molecular mechanisms of dissemination, including intra- and extravasation. Although the mechanisms of extravasation have been vastly studied in vitro and in vivo, the process of intravasation is still unclear. Furthermore, how cells in the tumor microenvironment facilitate tumor cell intravasation is still unknown. Using high-resolution imaging, we found that macrophages enhance tumor cell intravasation upon physical contact. Macrophage and tumor cell contact induce RhoA activity in tumor cells, triggering the formation of actin-rich degradative protrusions called invadopodia, enabling tumor cells to degrade and break through matrix barriers during tumor cell transendothelial migration. Interestingly, we show that macrophage-induced invadopodium formation and tumor cell intravasation also occur in patient-derived tumor cells and in vivo models, revealing a conserved mechanism of tumor cell intravasation. Our results illustrate a novel heterotypic cell contact-mediated signaling role for RhoA, as well as yield mechanistic insight into the ability of cells within the tumor microenvironment to facilitate steps of the metastatic cascade.

β1 integrin has been shown to promote metastasis in a number of tumor models, including breast, ovarian, pancreatic, and skin cancer; however, the mechanism by which it does so is poorly understood. Invasive membrane protrusions called invadopodia are believed to facilitate extracellular matrix degradation and intravasation during metastasis. Previous work showed that β1 integrin localizes to invadopodia, but its role in regulating invadopodial function has not been well characterized. We find that β1 integrin is required for the formation of mature, degradation-competent invadopodia in both two- and three-dimensional matrices but is dispensable for invadopodium precursor formation in metastatic human breast cancer cells. β1 integrin is activated during invadopodium precursor maturation, and forced β1 integrin activation enhances the rate of invadopodial matrix proteolysis. Furthermore, β1 integrin interacts with the tyrosine kinase Arg and stimulates Arg-dependent phosphorylation of cortactin on tyrosine 421. Silencing β1 integrin with small interfering RNA completely abrogates Arg-dependent cortactin phosphorylation and cofilin-dependent barbed-end formation at invadopodia, leading to a significant decrease in the number and stability of mature invadopodia. These results describe a fundamental role for β1 integrin in controlling actin polymerization–dependent invadopodial maturation and matrix degradation in metastatic tumor cells.