Transmigration of Melanoma Cancer Cells
Malignant melanoma is a common cause of brain metastases that develop when melanoma cells that have entered the bloodstream transmigrate across the blood brain barrier (BBB) and begin to proliferate. This transmigration of melanoma cells across the BBB has yet to be understood comprehensively. The objective of this study was to evaluate melanoma cancer cell transmigration using an in vitro model of the BBB composed of brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMECs) derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) to identify phenotypic differences across melanoma lines that dictate the capacity of these lines to successfully metastasize to the brain. Four melanoma cell lines established from either lung or brain metastases were evaluated for their propensity to transmigrate the BBB in vitro. In the absence of BMECs, cell lines established from the brain metastases exhibited a higher rate of transmigration compared to those derived from the lung metastases. This trend was less apparent in the presence of BMECs. The underlying reasons for these differences are still under investigation.