Circulating tumor cells with metastasis-initiating competence survive fluid shear stress during hematogenous dissemination through CXCR4-PI3K/AKT signaling

To seed lethal secondary lesions, circulating tumor cells (CTCs) must survive all rate-limiting factors during hematogenous dissemination, including fluid shear stress (FSS) that poses a grand challenge to their survival. We thus hypothesized that CTCs with the ability to survive FSS in vasculature might hold metastasis-initiating competence. This study reported that FSS of physiologic magnitude selected a small subpopulation of suspended tumor cells in vitro with the traits of metastasis-initiating cells, including stemness, migration/invasion potential, cellular plasticity, and biophysical properties. These shear-selected cells generated local and metastatic tumors at the primary and distal sites efficiently, implicating their metastasis competence. Mechanistically, FSS activated the mechanosensitive protein CXCR4 and the downstream PI3K/AKT signaling, which were essential in shear-mediated selection of metastasis-competent CTCs. In summary, these findings conclude that CTCs with metastasis-initiating competence survive FSS during hematogenous dissemination through CXCR4-PI3K/AKT signaling, which may provide new therapeutic targets for the early prevention of tumor metastasis. •Fluid shear stress selects a subpopulation of circulating tumor cells with metastasis-initiating traits.•The shear-selected tumor cells efficiently generate local and metastatic tumors in vivo.•Fluid shear stress selects these metastasis-initiating cells through CXCR4/PI3K/AKT signaling.