Lymphatic Endothelial Cells Enhances Prostate Cancer Cells Invasion of Extracellular Matrix

Tariq Shah¹, Flonne Wildes¹, Zaver M. Bhujwalla¹

Lymph node metastasis is associated with poor prognosis in prostate cancer. Since lymphatic vessels serve as the primary route for this spread it is important to determine the role of lymphatic endothelial- prostate cancer cell interactions in the invasion of lymphatic vessels. Here we investigated the role of this interaction in invasion and degradation of extracellular matrix (ECM) in our MR compatible cell perfusion assay and determined associated metabolic changes. We observed significantly increased invasion by PC-3 human prostate cancer cells when in the proximity of lymphatic endothelial cells suggesting that this interaction plays a critical role in lymphatic metastasis.