Figures
Epithelial Tumors Originate in Tumor Hotspots, a Tissue-Intrinsic Microenvironment
Transformed mutant cells (pro-tumor cells) can evolve through a multistep process in which they become tumorigenic and invasive. Many genes that are involved in the different steps towards cancer development have been identified; however, how certain mutant cells destroy normal tissue organization and undergo uncontrolled proliferation during the initial stages of this process remains largely unclear. A genetic study by Tamori et al. in the wing imaginal discs of the fruit fly Drosophila reveals a mechanism of tumorigenesis by which pro-tumor cells initiate dysplastic tumor growth at specific "hotspot" locations in epithelial tissues. The image shows a transmission electron micrograph showing the basal side of epithelial cells in the hotspot of wild-type wing discs. Cells have been pseudo-colored to distinguish them from each other, and circular cross-sections of filopodial protrusions are colored bright red.
Image Credit: pbio.1002537
Citation: (2016) PLoS Biology Issue Image | Vol. 14(9) September 2016. PLoS Biol 14(9): ev14.i09. https://doi.org/10.1371/image.pbio.v14.i09
Published: September 30, 2016
Copyright: © 2016 Tamori et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Transformed mutant cells (pro-tumor cells) can evolve through a multistep process in which they become tumorigenic and invasive. Many genes that are involved in the different steps towards cancer development have been identified; however, how certain mutant cells destroy normal tissue organization and undergo uncontrolled proliferation during the initial stages of this process remains largely unclear. A genetic study by Tamori et al. in the wing imaginal discs of the fruit fly Drosophila reveals a mechanism of tumorigenesis by which pro-tumor cells initiate dysplastic tumor growth at specific "hotspot" locations in epithelial tissues. The image shows a transmission electron micrograph showing the basal side of epithelial cells in the hotspot of wild-type wing discs. Cells have been pseudo-colored to distinguish them from each other, and circular cross-sections of filopodial protrusions are colored bright red.
Image Credit: pbio.1002537