Near death cells cause chemotherapy induced metastasis

It is revealed that a small subpopulation of near death cells (NDCs) withcompromised plasma membranes can reverse the death process to enhancesurvival and repopulation after exposure to lethal doses of cytotoxins.Moreover, these NDCs acquire enhanced tumorigenic and metastaticcapabilities, but maintain chemosensitivity in multiple models.

研究表明，一小部分带有细胞膜完整性受损特征的濒死细胞（near death cells, NDCs）在暴露于致死剂量的细胞毒素后，可逆转死亡进程，提升存活能力并实现群体重建。此外，在多种实验模型中，这类濒死细胞会获得增强的致瘤性与转移能力，但仍保持化疗敏感性。