Collagen and collagen-derived fragments are chemotactic for tumor cells.

Organs that are rich in collagen such as liver, lungs, and bone are frequently sites of tumor cell metastasis. In this study, we have found that cultured tumor cells of human and rat origin migrated unidirectionally in response to collagen in vitro. Synthetic di- and tri-peptides that contained amino acid sequences found frequently in the collagen helix caused similar effects. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that collagen or collagen fragments released during connective tissue remodeling may be important in tumor cell metastasis.