Researchers unravel secrets of cancer cell migration

University of Massachusetts researchers have discovered a type of protease that controls cell migration during the development phase. Developmental biologists Dominique Alfandari and Helene Cousin reported that a protease known as ADAM 13 or metalloprotease -- because it requires metal to cut other proteins, controls cell migration. The researchers tracked individual cells in frog embryos to learn how ADAM 13 controls proteins in the cranial neural crest (CNC), which forms the jaw and face. CNC cell migration is common in all vertebrate embryos, including humans. Any defect in the production or migration of the crest will result in severe facial malformations such as cleft palate. ADAM 13 regulates the function of the cells through cutting the proteins. The protein consists of two different proteases, one active on the cell's outer surface, and the other domain inside the cytoplasm. Researchers believe the cytosplasmic domain of ADAM controls CNC migration. "If you take ADAM 13 protein out of a cell while it is in the embryo, the cells cannot migrate. The odd part is that if we remove it from cells outside an embryo, they do not need the protein to move,” Alfandari explains. “This is a mystery because for most proteins, if you remove them, the cell will not be normal. This is a special quality we really want to learn more about," he added. They believe the results will help them learn how cancer cells migrate and invade new organs, contributing to new techniques to prevent their spread.