1
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Napieralski R, Schricker G, Auer G, Aubele M, Perkins J, Magdolen V, Ulm K, Hamann M, Walch A, Weichert W, Kiechle M, Wilhelm OG. PITX2 DNA-Methylation: Predictive versus Prognostic Value for Anthracycline-Based Chemotherapy in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Patients. Breast Care (Basel) 2021; 16:523-531. [PMID: 34720812 DOI: 10.1159/000510468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2020] [Accepted: 07/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Background PITX2 DNA methylation has been shown to predict outcomes in high-risk breast cancer patients after anthracycline-based chemotherapy. To determine its prognostic versus predictive value, the impact of PITX2 DNA methylation on outcomes was studied in an untreated cohort vs. an anthracycline-treated triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cohort. Material and Methods The percent DNA methylation ratio (PMR) of paired-like homeodomain transcription factor 2 (PITX2) was determined by a validated methylation-specific real-time PCR test. Patient samples of routinely collected archived formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue and clinical data from 144 TNBC patients of 2 independent cohorts (i.e., 66 untreated patients and 78 patients treated with anthracycline-based chemotherapy) were analyzed. Results The risk of 5- and 10-year overall survival (OS) increased continuously with rising PITX2 DNA methylation in the anthracycline-treated population, but it increased only slightly during 10-year follow-up time in the untreated patient population. PITX2 DNA methylation with a PMR cutoff of 2 did not show significance for poor vs. good outcomes (OS) in the untreated patient cohort (HR = 1.55; p = 0.259). In contrast, the PITX2 PMR cutoff of 2 identified patients with poor (PMR >2) vs. good (PMR ≤2) outcomes (OS) with statistical significance in the anthracycline-treated cohort (HR = 3.96; p = 0.011). The results in the subgroup of patients who did receive anthracyclines only (no taxanes) confirmed this finding (HR = 5.71; p = 0.014). Conclusion In this hypothesis-generating study PITX2 DNA methylation demonstrated predominantly predictive value in anthracycline treatment in TNBC patients. The risk of poor outcome (OS) correlates with increasing PITX2 DNA methylation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Gert Auer
- Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | | | - Viktor Magdolen
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics and Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCCTUM), Klinikum Rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Kurt Ulm
- Institute of Medical Informatics, Statistics and Epidemiology, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Moritz Hamann
- Department of Gynecology Rotkreuzklinikum München, Munich, Germany
| | - Axel Walch
- Research Unit Analytical Pathology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Munich, Germany
| | - Wilko Weichert
- Institute of Pathology, Klinikum Rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Marion Kiechle
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics and Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCCTUM), Klinikum Rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
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2
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Wang CC, Lin SY, Huang YH, Hsieh CH, Chang HH, Chen HY, Weng CW, Chang GC, Yu SL, Chen JJW. Paired-like homeodomain 2B contributes to tumour progression and anti-autophagy in human lung cancer. Am J Cancer Res 2021; 11:4900-4918. [PMID: 34765299 PMCID: PMC8569349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2021] [Accepted: 09/19/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Paired-like homeodomain transcription factor 2 (PITX2) is well known to play an essential role in normal embryonic development. Emerging evidence suggests that PITX2 may be involved in human tumorigenesis, but the role of PITX2 in tumour progression remains largely unclear. The expression levels of PITX2 in lung cancer cells were determined by qRT-PCR and Western blot analyses. Gain- and loss-of-function experiments were conducted to investigate the biological roles of PITX2 in the phenotype of lung cancer cells. Immunofluorescence staining and transmission electron microscopy were used to observe autophagy. The expression level and clinical significance of PITX2 were determined in a Taiwanese cohort and the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, respectively. Here, we show that PITX2B is the most abundant isoform of the bicoid homeodomain family in lung cancer cells. The enforced expression of PITX2B promoted lung cancer tumorigenesis and progression in vitro and in vivo. The mechanistic analysis revealed that the nuclear localization of PITX2B is correlated with its oncogenic functions and two important nuclear localization signals. In addition, PITX2B knockdown in lung cancer cells caused a marked increase in autophagy and apoptosis, suggesting that PITX2B plays an important role in lung cancer cell survival. Moreover, a high expression of PITX2B was associated with a poor overall survival (P<0.05) in both Taiwanese non-small-cell lung cancer patients and GEO lung cancer cohorts. These results provide new insight into the contribution of PITX2B to lung cancer progression, implicate PITX2B as an important component of cell survival signals and further establish PITX2B as a therapeutic target for lung cancer treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chi-Chung Wang
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Science, Fu Jen Catholic UniversityNew Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Sheng-Yi Lin
- Institute of Biomedical Sciences, National Chung Hsing UniversityTaichung, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Han Huang
- Institute of Biomedical Sciences, National Chung Hsing UniversityTaichung, Taiwan
| | - Chia-Hung Hsieh
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, China Medical UniversityTaichung, Taiwan
| | - Hsiu-Hui Chang
- Institute of Biomedical Sciences, National Chung Hsing UniversityTaichung, Taiwan
| | - Hsuan-Yu Chen
- Institute of Statistical Science, Academia SinicaTaipei, Taiwan
| | - Chia-Wei Weng
- Institute of Biomedical Sciences, National Chung Hsing UniversityTaichung, Taiwan
| | - Gee-Chen Chang
- Institute of Biomedical Sciences, National Chung Hsing UniversityTaichung, Taiwan
- Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University HospitalTaichung, Taiwan
- Division of Chest Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Taichung Veterans General HospitalTaichung, Taiwan
| | - Sung-Liang Yu
- Department of Clinical and Laboratory Sciences and Medical Biotechnology, National Taiwan University College of MedicineTaipei, Taiwan
| | - Jeremy JW Chen
- Institute of Biomedical Sciences, National Chung Hsing UniversityTaichung, Taiwan
- Institute of Molecular Biology, National Chung Hsing UniversityTaichung, Taiwan
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3
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Schmitt M, Wilhelm OG, Noske A, Schricker G, Napieralski R, Vetter M, Aubele M, Perkins J, Lauber J, Ulm K, Thomssen C, Martens JWM, Weichert W, Kiechle M. Clinical Validation of PITX2 DNA Methylation to Predict Outcome in High-Risk Breast Cancer Patients Treated with Anthracycline-Based Chemotherapy. Breast Care (Basel) 2018; 13:425-433. [PMID: 30800037 DOI: 10.1159/000493016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Breast cancer patients at high risk for recurrence are treated with anthracycline-based chemotherapy, but not all patients do equally benefit from such a regimen. To further improve therapy decision-making, biomarkers predicting outcome are of high unmet medical need. Methods: The percent DNA methylation ratio (PMR) of the promoter gene coding for the Paired-like homeodomain transcription factor 2 (PITX2) was determined by a validated methylation-specific real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. The multicenter study was conducted in routinely collected archived formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue from 205 lymph node-positive breast cancer patients treated with adjuvant anthracycline-based chemotherapy. Results: The cut-off for the PITX2 methylation status (PMR = 12) was confirmed in a randomly selected cohort (n = 60) and validated (n = 145) prospectively with disease-free survival (DFS) at the 10-year follow-up. DFS was significantly different between the PMR ≤ 12 versus the PMR > 12 group with a hazard ratio (HR) of 2.74 (p < 0.001) in the validation cohort and also for the patient subgroup treated additionally with endocrine therapy (HR 2.47; p = 0.001). Conclusions: Early-stage lymph node-positive breast cancer patients with low PITX2 methylation do benefit from adjuvant anthracycline-based chemotherapy. Patients with a high PITX2 DNA methylation ratio, approximately 30%, show poor outcome and should thus be considered for alternative chemotherapy regimens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manfred Schmitt
- Therawis Diagnostics GmbH, Munich, Germany.,Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | | | - Aurelia Noske
- Institute of Pathology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany.,German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), partner site Munich, Munich, Germany
| | | | | | - Martina Vetter
- Department of Gynecology, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | | | | | | | - Kurt Ulm
- Institute of Medical Informatics, Statistics and Epidemiology, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Christoph Thomssen
- Department of Gynecology, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - John W M Martens
- Department of Medical Oncology and Cancer Genomics Netherlands, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Wilko Weichert
- Institute of Pathology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany.,German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), partner site Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Marion Kiechle
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
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4
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Absmaier M, Napieralski R, Schuster T, Aubele M, Walch A, Magdolen V, Dorn J, Gross E, Harbeck N, Noske A, Kiechle M, Schmitt M. PITX2 DNA-methylation predicts response to anthracycline-based adjuvant chemotherapy in triple-negative breast cancer patients. Int J Oncol 2018; 52:755-767. [PMID: 29328369 PMCID: PMC5807037 DOI: 10.3892/ijo.2018.4241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2017] [Accepted: 10/19/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) constitutes a heterogeneous breast cancer subgroup with poor prognosis; survival rates are likely to be lower with TNBC compared to other breast cancer subgroups. For this disease, systemic adjuvant chemotherapy regimens often yield suboptimal clinical results. To improve treatment regimens in TNBC, identification of molecular biomarkers may help to select patients for individualized adjuvant therapy. Evidence has accumulated that determination of the methylation status of the PITX2 gene provides a predictive value in various breast cancer subgroups, either treated with endocrine-based therapy or anthracycline-containing chemotherapy. To further explore the validity of this novel predictive candidate biomarker, in the present exploratory retrospective study, determination of the PITX2 DNA-methylation status was assessed for non-metastatic TNBC patients treated with adjuvant anthracycline-based chemotherapy by molecular analysis of breast cancer tissues. The PITX2 DNA-methylation status was determined in fresh-frozen tumor tissue specimens (n=56) by methylation-specific qRT-PCR (qMSP) and the data related to disease-free and overall survival, applying an optimized DNA-methylation score of 6.35%. For non-metastatic TNBC patients treated with adjuvant systemic anthracycline-based chemotherapy, a low PITX2 DNA-methylation status (<6.35) defines TNBC patients with poor disease-free and overall survival. Univariate and multivariate analyses demonstrate the statistically independent predictive value of PITX2 DNA-methylation. For non-metastatic TNBC patients, selective determination of the PITX2 DNA-methylation status may serve as a cancer biomarker for predicting response to anthracycline-based adjuvant chemotherapy. The assay based on methylation of the PIXT2 gene can be applied to frozen and routinely available formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) breast cancer tumor tissues that will not only define those TNBC patients who may benefit from anthracycline-based chemotherapy but also those who should be spared the necessity of such potentially toxic treatment. Such patients should be allocated to alternative treatment options.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena Absmaier
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Rudolf Napieralski
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Tibor Schuster
- Institute of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Michaela Aubele
- Institute of Pathology, Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Axel Walch
- Institute of Pathology, Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Viktor Magdolen
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Julia Dorn
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Eva Gross
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Nadia Harbeck
- Breast Center, Klinikum der Ludwig Maximilians Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Aurelia Noske
- Department of Pathology and Pathological Anatomy, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Marion Kiechle
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Manfred Schmitt
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
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5
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Li WX, He K, Tang L, Dai SX, Li GH, Lv WW, Guo YC, An SQ, Wu GY, Liu D, Huang JF. Comprehensive tissue-specific gene set enrichment analysis and transcription factor analysis of breast cancer by integrating 14 gene expression datasets. Oncotarget 2018; 8:6775-6786. [PMID: 28036274 PMCID: PMC5351668 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.14286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2016] [Accepted: 12/07/2016] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed malignancy in women. Several key genes and pathways have been proven to correlate with breast cancer pathology. This study sought to explore the differences in key transcription factors (TFs), transcriptional regulation networks and dysregulated pathways in different tissues in breast cancer. We employed 14 breast cancer datasets from NCBI-GEO and performed an integrated analysis in three different tissues including breast, blood and saliva. The results showed that there were eight genes (CEBPD, EGR1, EGR2, EGR3, FOS, FOSB, ID1 and NFIL3) down-regulated in breast tissue but up-regulated in blood tissue. Furthermore, we identified several unreported tissue-specific TFs that may contribute to breast cancer, including ATOH8, DMRT2, TBX15 and ZNF367. The dysregulation of these TFs damaged lipid metabolism, development, cell adhesion, proliferation, differentiation and metastasis processes. Among these pathways, the breast tissue showed the most serious impairment and the blood tissue showed a relatively moderate damage, whereas the saliva tissue was almost unaffected. This study could be helpful for future biomarker discovery, drug design, and therapeutic and predictive applications in breast cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen-Xing Li
- Institute of Health Sciences, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, Anhui, China.,State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, Yunnan, China
| | - Kan He
- Center for Stem Cell and Translational Medicine, School of Life Sciences, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, Anhui, China.,Department of Biostatistics, School of Life Sciences, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, Anhui, China
| | - Ling Tang
- Center for Stem Cell and Translational Medicine, School of Life Sciences, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, Anhui, China
| | - Shao-Xing Dai
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, Yunnan, China.,Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650204, Yunnan, China
| | - Gong-Hua Li
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, Yunnan, China.,Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650204, Yunnan, China
| | - Wen-Wen Lv
- Hongqiao International Institute of Medicine, Shanghai Tongren Hospital/Faculty of Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
| | - Yi-Cheng Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, Yunnan, China
| | - San-Qi An
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, Yunnan, China.,Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650204, Yunnan, China
| | - Guo-Ying Wu
- Center for Stem Cell and Translational Medicine, School of Life Sciences, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, Anhui, China
| | - Dahai Liu
- Center for Stem Cell and Translational Medicine, School of Life Sciences, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, Anhui, China
| | - Jing-Fei Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, Yunnan, China.,Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650204, Yunnan, China.,KIZ-SU Joint Laboratory of Animal Models and Drug Development, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Soochow University, Kunming 650223, Yunnan, China.,Collaborative Innovation Center for Natural Products and Biological Drugs of Yunnan, Kunming 650223, Yunnan, China.,Chinese University of Hong Kong Joint Research Center for Bio-resources and Human Disease Mechanisms, Kunming 650223, Yunnan, China
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6
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Aubele M, Schmitt M, Napieralski R, Paepke S, Ettl J, Absmaier M, Magdolen V, Martens J, Foekens JA, Wilhelm OG, Kiechle M. The Predictive Value of PITX2 DNA Methylation for High-Risk Breast Cancer Therapy: Current Guidelines, Medical Needs, and Challenges. DISEASE MARKERS 2017; 2017:4934608. [PMID: 29138528 PMCID: PMC5613359 DOI: 10.1155/2017/4934608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2017] [Accepted: 08/13/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
High-risk breast cancer comprises distinct tumor entities such as triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) which is characterized by lack of estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PR) and the HER2 receptor and breast malignancies which have spread to more than three lymph nodes. For such patients, current (inter)national guidelines recommend anthracycline-based chemotherapy as the standard of care, but not all patients do equally benefit from such a chemotherapy. To further improve therapy decision-making, predictive biomarkers are of high, so far unmet, medical need. In this respect, predictive biomarkers would permit patient selection for a particular kind of chemotherapy and, by this, guide physicians to optimize the treatment plan for each patient individually. Besides DNA mutations, DNA methylation as a patient selection marker has received increasing clinical attention. For instance, significant evidence has accumulated that methylation of the PITX2 (paired-like homeodomain transcription factor 2) gene might serve as a novel predictive and prognostic biomarker, for a variety of cancer diseases. This review highlights the current understanding of treatment modalities of high-risk breast cancer patients with a focus on recommended treatment options, with special attention on the future clinical application of PITX2 as a predictive biomarker to personalize breast cancer management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michaela Aubele
- Therawis Diagnostics GmbH, Grillparzerstrasse 14, 81675 Munich, Germany
| | - Manfred Schmitt
- Therawis Diagnostics GmbH, Grillparzerstrasse 14, 81675 Munich, Germany
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Clinical Research Unit, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Ismaningerstr. 22, 81675 Munich, Germany
| | | | - Stefan Paepke
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Clinical Research Unit, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Ismaningerstr. 22, 81675 Munich, Germany
| | - Johannes Ettl
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Clinical Research Unit, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Ismaningerstr. 22, 81675 Munich, Germany
| | - Magdalena Absmaier
- Department of Dermatology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Biedersteiner Str. 29, 80802 Munich, Germany
| | - Viktor Magdolen
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Clinical Research Unit, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Ismaningerstr. 22, 81675 Munich, Germany
| | - John Martens
- Department of Medical Oncology, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Erasmus University Medical Center, Wytemaweg 80, 3015 CN Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | - John A. Foekens
- Department of Medical Oncology, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Erasmus University Medical Center, Wytemaweg 80, 3015 CN Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | - Olaf G. Wilhelm
- Therawis Diagnostics GmbH, Grillparzerstrasse 14, 81675 Munich, Germany
| | - Marion Kiechle
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Clinical Research Unit, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Ismaningerstr. 22, 81675 Munich, Germany
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7
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Rangel MC, Bertolette D, Castro NP, Klauzinska M, Cuttitta F, Salomon DS. Developmental signaling pathways regulating mammary stem cells and contributing to the etiology of triple-negative breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res Treat 2016; 156:211-26. [PMID: 26968398 PMCID: PMC4819564 DOI: 10.1007/s10549-016-3746-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2016] [Accepted: 03/04/2016] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Cancer has been considered as temporal and spatial aberrations of normal development in tissues. Similarities between mammary embryonic development and cell transformation suggest that the underlying processes required for mammary gland development are also those perturbed during various stages of mammary tumorigenesis and breast cancer (BC) development. The master regulators of embryonic development Cripto-1, Notch/CSL, and Wnt/β-catenin play key roles in modulating mammary gland morphogenesis and cell fate specification in the embryo through fetal mammary stem cells (fMaSC) and in the adult organism particularly within the adult mammary stem cells (aMaSC), which determine mammary progenitor cell lineages that generate the basal/myoepithelial and luminal compartments of the adult mammary gland. Together with recognized transcription factors and embryonic stem cell markers, these embryonic regulatory molecules can be inappropriately augmented during tumorigenesis to support the tumor-initiating cell (TIC)/cancer stem cell (CSC) compartment, and the effects of their deregulation may contribute for the etiology of BC, in particular the most aggressive subtype of BC, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). This in depth review will present evidence of the involvement of Cripto-1, Notch/CSL, and Wnt/β-catenin in the normal mammary gland morphogenesis and tumorigenesis, from fMaSC/aMaSC regulation to TIC generation and maintenance in TNBC. Specific therapies for treating TNBC by targeting these embryonic pathways in TICs will be further discussed, providing new opportunities to destroy not only the bulk tumor, but also TICs that initiate and promote the metastatic spread and recurrence of this aggressive subtype of BC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Cristina Rangel
- Tumor Growth Factor Section, Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Building 560, Room 32-40B, 1050 Boyles Street, Ft. Detrick, Frederick, MD, 21702, USA
| | - Daniel Bertolette
- Tumor Growth Factor Section, Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Building 560, Room 32-40B, 1050 Boyles Street, Ft. Detrick, Frederick, MD, 21702, USA
| | - Nadia P Castro
- Tumor Growth Factor Section, Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Building 560, Room 32-40B, 1050 Boyles Street, Ft. Detrick, Frederick, MD, 21702, USA
| | - Malgorzata Klauzinska
- Tumor Growth Factor Section, Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Building 560, Room 32-40B, 1050 Boyles Street, Ft. Detrick, Frederick, MD, 21702, USA
| | - Frank Cuttitta
- Tumor Growth Factor Section, Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Building 560, Room 32-40B, 1050 Boyles Street, Ft. Detrick, Frederick, MD, 21702, USA
| | - David S Salomon
- Tumor Growth Factor Section, Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Building 560, Room 32-40B, 1050 Boyles Street, Ft. Detrick, Frederick, MD, 21702, USA.
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