Tumor-stroma interaction: Revealing fibroblast-secreted exosomes as potent regulators of Wnt-planar cell polarity signaling in cancer metastasis

Abstract

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF) regulate tumor progression, but their role in cancer metastasis remains largely unexplored. Exosomes are secreted microvesicles that are emerging as potent mediators of cell-cell communication that are of particular importance in tumor-stroma interactions. The Wnt-planar cell polarity (PCP) pathway is the primary regulator of convergent extension cell movements during vertebrate development, but the role of this signaling pathway in cancer cell migration and metastasis has been unclear. Recently, we revealed that fibroblasts secrete exosomes that promote breast cancer cell (BCC) protrusive activity, motility, and metastasis by activating autocrine Wnt-PCP signaling in BCCs. Moreover, we showed that Wnt ligands produced by BCCs tether to fibroblast exosomes upon trafficking of exosomes in BCCs. These findings have several implications that motivate promising future research in the fields of tumor-stroma communication, exosome function, and Wnt-PCP signaling in cancer metastasis.