Malignant tumors engender and employ cancer-specific organelles for self-protection and metastasis

Abstract

Cancer is a leading source of human lethality but current therapies have had limited efficacy in many cancers, which highlights an unmet need to assess the underlying mechanisms that govern cancer progression in vivo. Here we show that, upon malignant transformation, aggressive oncocells generate extracellular membranous compartments, cytocapsulas or cytocapsular tubes (CCTs), to enclose oncocells and engender cytocapsular oncocells in vivo. Cytocapsular oncocells are universally present in solid cancers and appear in hematologic cancers in the immune organs. Networks of cytocapsular tubes provide membrane-enclosed freeways for protected cancer metastasis. CCT networks interconnect cytocapsular tumors creating cytocapsular tumor network systems. Our findings suggest that cytocapsular oncocells drive membrane-encompassed cancer progression. Thus, interconnected cytocapsular oncocells, CCT networks and cytocapsular tumor network systems coordinate cancer progression in the integrated cytocapsular membrane systems.