Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) promote tumour invasion and metastasis. We show that CAFs exert a physical force on cancer cells that enables their collective invasion. Force transmission is mediated by a heterophilic adhesion involving N-cadherin at the CAF membrane and E-cadherin at the cancer cell membrane. This adhesion is mechanically active; when subjected to force it triggers β-catenin recruitment and adhesion reinforcement dependent on α-catenin/vinculin interaction. Impairment of E-cadherin/N-cadherin adhesion abrogates the ability of CAFs to guide collective cell migration and blocks cancer cell invasion. N-cadherin also mediates repolarization of the CAFs away from the cancer cells. In parallel, nectins and afadin are recruited to the cancer cell/CAF interface and CAF repolarization is afadin dependent. Heterotypic junctions between CAFs and cancer cells are observed in patient-derived material. Together, our findings show that a mechanically active heterophilic adhesion between CAFs and cancer cells enables cooperative tumour invasion.

In the mammary gland, epithelial cells are embedded in a ‘soft’ environment and become functionally differentiated in culture when exposed to a laminin‐rich extracellular matrix gel. Here, we define the processes by which mammary epithelial cells integrate biochemical and mechanical extracellular cues to maintain their differentiated phenotype. We used single cells cultured on top of gels in conditions permissive for β‐casein expression using atomic force microscopy to measure the elasticity of the cells and their underlying substrata. We found that maintenance of β‐casein expression required both laminin signalling and a ‘soft’ extracellular matrix, as is the case in normal tissues in vivo , and biomimetic intracellular elasticity, as is the case in primary mammary epithelial organoids. Conversely, two hallmarks of breast cancer development, stiffening of the extracellular matrix and loss of laminin signalling, led to the loss of β‐casein expression and non‐biomimetic intracellular elasticity. Our data indicate that tissue‐specific gene expression is controlled by both the tissues’ unique biochemical milieu and mechanical properties, processes involved in maintenance of tissue integrity and protection against tumorigenesis.

Epithelial cell invasion through the extracellular matrix (ECM) is a crucial step in branching morphogenesis. The mechanisms by which the mammary epithelium integrates cues from the ECM with intracellular signaling in order to coordinate invasion through the stroma to make the mammary tree are poorly understood. Because the cell membrane-bound matrix metalloproteinase Mmp14 is known to play a key role in cancer cell invasion, we hypothesized that it could also be centrally involved in integrating signals for mammary epithelial cells (MECs) to navigate the collagen 1 (CL-1)-rich stroma of the mammary gland. Expression studies in nulliparous mice that carry a NLS-lacZ transgene downstream of the Mmp14 promoter revealed that Mmp14 is expressed in MECs at the tips of the branches. Using both mammary organoids and 3D organotypic cultures, we show that MMP activity is necessary for invasion through dense CL-1 (3 mg/ml) gels, but dispensable for MEC branching in sparse CL-1 (1 mg/ml) gels. Surprisingly, however, Mmp14 without its catalytic activity was still necessary for branching. Silencing Mmp14 prevented cell invasion through CL-1 and disrupted branching altogether; it also reduced integrin β1 (Itgb1) levels and attenuated MAPK signaling, disrupting Itgb1-dependent invasion/branching within CL-1 gels. FRET imaging revealed that Mmp14 associates directly with Itgb1. We identified a domain of Mmp14 that is required for modulating the levels of Itgb1, MEC signaling and the rate of invasion within CL-1. These results shed light on hitherto undescribed non-proteolytic activities of Mmp14 that are necessary for the Itgb1-dependent biochemical and mechanical signals that regulate branching in the mammary epithelium.