Lymphatic endothelial cells derived from metastatic and non-metastatic lymph nodes of human colorectal cancer reveal phenotypic differences in culture.

Colorectal cancer is one of the mostfrequent causes of death in Western countries.Most patients develop metastasis travelingthrough the lymphatic system, and regionallymph node metastasis is considered a markerfor dissemination, increased stage, and worseprognosis. Despite rapid advances in tumorbiology, the processes that underpin lymphaticinvasion and lymph node metastasis remainpoorly understood. The aim of this study wasto establish an easy protocol for isolation ofpure tumor lymphatic endothelial cells derivedfrom lymph nodes to study differencescompared with normal endothelial cells ofuninvolved tissue from the same patients.Cells were isolated with very high purity viamagnetic cell sorting and express the specificlymphatic markers Prox-1 and Lyve-1. Theyshow differences in expression of adhesionmolecules, chemokines, and growth factorsecretion, and capability to form capillarieswhen seeded on basal membrane, thereby,revealing important differences between thetwo cell type. These cultures may provide apromising platform for the comparativeanalysis of both cell types at the molecularand biological level and to optimize treatmentstrategies.