Scientists found that, when deprived of amino acids, cancer cells cooperated to extract and share them from their environment.

The survival of malignant cells within tumours is often seen as depending on ruthless competition for nutrients and other resources1,2. Although competition is certainly critical for tumour evolution and cancer progression, cooperative interactions within tumours are also important, albeit poorly understood3,4. Cooperative populations at all levels of biological organization risk extinction if their population size falls below a critical tipping point5,6. Here we examined whether cooperation among tumour cells may be a potential therapeutic target. We identified a cooperative mechanism that enables tumour cells to proliferate under the amino acid-deprived conditions found in the tumour microenvironment. Disruption of this mechanism drove cultured tumour populations to the critical extinction point and resulted in a marked reduction in tumour growth in vivo. Mechanistically, we show that tumour cells collectively digest extracellular oligopeptides through the secretion of amin

Nature - Nutrient-starved tumour cells cooperate by secreting aminopeptidases that digest oligopeptides in the microenvironment, creating a shared pool of free amino acids.

Nutrient-starved tumour cells cooperate by secreting aminopeptidases that digest oligopeptides in the microenvironment, creating a shared pool of free amino acids.

Collective motion, which is ubiquitous in nature, has traditionally been explained by “self-propelled particle” models from theoretical physics. Here we show, through field, lab, and virtual reality e...

Nutrient-starved tumour cells cooperate by secreting aminopeptidases that digest oligopeptides in the microenvironment, creating a shared pool of free amino acids.

Nature - Nutrient-starved tumour cells cooperate by secreting aminopeptidases that digest oligopeptides in the microenvironment, creating a shared pool of free amino acids.

Using 3D printing, scientists replicate the tumor environment to visualize cancer’s spread in real time