Anoikis

Anoikis is a form of programmed cell death that occurs in anchorage-dependent cells when they detach from the surrounding extracellular matrix (ECM). Usually cells stay close to the tissue to which they belong since the communication between proximal cells as well as between cells and ECM provide essential signals for growth or survival. When cells are detached from the ECM, there is a loss of normal cell–matrix interactions, and they may undergo anoikis. However, metastatic tumor cells may escape from anoikis and invade other organs. Anoikis is a form of programmed cell death that occurs in anchorage-dependent cells when they detach from the surrounding extracellular matrix (ECM). Usually cells stay close to the tissue to which they belong since the communication between proximal cells as well as between cells and ECM provide essential signals for growth or survival. When cells are detached from the ECM, there is a loss of normal cell–matrix interactions, and they may undergo anoikis. However, metastatic tumor cells may escape from anoikis and invade other organs. The word Anoikis was coined by Frisch and Francis in a paper published in the Journal of Cell Biology in 1994. Anoikis, in their words, means '(...the state of being without a home) to describe the cells' apoptotic response to the absence of cell–matrix interactions'. The word apparently is a neologism construction consisting of three Greek morphemes agglutinated together: ἀν- 'without', οἰκ- 'house', and the suffix -ις.