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Amissah HA, Combs SE, Shevtsov M. Tumor Dormancy and Reactivation: The Role of Heat Shock Proteins. Cells 2024; 13:1087. [PMID: 38994941 PMCID: PMC11240553 DOI: 10.3390/cells13131087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2024] [Revised: 06/19/2024] [Accepted: 06/20/2024] [Indexed: 07/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Tumors are a heterogeneous group of cell masses originating in various organs or tissues. The cellular composition of the tumor cell mass interacts in an intricate manner, influenced by humoral, genetic, molecular, and tumor microenvironment cues that dictate tumor growth or suppression. As a result, tumors undergo a period of a dormant state before their clinically discernible stage, which surpasses the clinical dormancy threshold. Moreover, as a genetically imprinted strategy, early-seeder cells, a distinct population of tumor cells, break off to dock nearby or extravasate into blood vessels to secondary tissues, where they form disseminated solitary dormant tumor cells with reversible capacity. Among the various mechanisms underlying the dormant tumor mass and dormant tumor cell formation, heat shock proteins (HSPs) might play one of the most important roles in how the dormancy program plays out. It is known that numerous aberrant cellular processes, such as malignant transformation, cancer cell stemness, tumor invasion, metastasis, angiogenesis, and signaling pathway maintenance, are influenced by the HSPs. An accumulating body of knowledge suggests that HSPs may be involved in the angiogenic switch, immune editing, and extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling cascades, crucial genetically imprinted strategies important to the tumor dormancy initiation and dormancy maintenance program. In this review, we highlight the biological events that orchestrate the dormancy state and the body of work that has been conducted on the dynamics of HSPs in a tumor mass, as well as tumor cell dormancy and reactivation. Additionally, we propose a conceptual framework that could possibly underlie dormant tumor reactivation in metastatic relapse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haneef Ahmed Amissah
- Institute of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Department of Medical Biology and Medical Biology, FEFU Campus, Far Eastern Federal University, 690922 Vladivostok, Russia
- Diagnostics Laboratory Department, Trauma and Specialist Hospital, CE-122-2486, Central Region, Winneba P.O. Box 326, Ghana
| | - Stephanie E Combs
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Technische Universität München (TUM), Klinikum Rechts der Isar, 81675 Munich, Germany
| | - Maxim Shevtsov
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Technische Universität München (TUM), Klinikum Rechts der Isar, 81675 Munich, Germany
- Laboratory of Biomedical Nanotechnologies, Institute of Cytology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), 194064 Saint Petersburg, Russia
- Personalized Medicine Centre, Almazov National Medical Research Centre, 197341 Saint Petersburg, Russia
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Kulkoyluoglu Cotul E, Safdar MH, Paez SJ, Kulkarni A, Ayers MG, Lin H, Xianyu Z, Teegarden D, Hursting SD, Wendt MK. FGFR1 Signaling Facilitates Obesity-Driven Pulmonary Outgrowth in Metastatic Breast Cancer. Mol Cancer Res 2024; 22:254-267. [PMID: 38153436 PMCID: PMC10923021 DOI: 10.1158/1541-7786.mcr-23-0955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2023] [Revised: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/21/2023] [Indexed: 12/29/2023]
Abstract
Survival of dormant, disseminated breast cancer cells contributes to tumor relapse and metastasis. Women with a body mass index greater than 35 have an increased risk of developing metastatic recurrence. Herein, we investigated the effect of diet-induced obesity (DIO) on primary tumor growth and metastatic progression using both metastatic and systemically dormant mouse models of breast cancer. This approach led to increased PT growth and pulmonary metastasis. We developed a novel protocol to induce obesity in Balb/c mice by combining dietary and hormonal interventions with a thermoneutral housing strategy. In contrast to standard housing conditions, ovariectomized Balb/c mice fed a high-fat diet under thermoneutral conditions became obese over a period of 10 weeks, resulting in a 250% gain in fat mass. Obese mice injected with the D2.OR model developed macroscopic pulmonary nodules compared with the dormant phenotype of these cells in mice fed a control diet. Analysis of the serum from obese Balb/c mice revealed increased levels of FGF2 as compared with lean mice. We demonstrate that serum from obese animals, exogenous FGF stimulation, or constitutive stimulation through autocrine and paracrine FGF2 is sufficient to break dormancy and drive pulmonary outgrowth. Blockade of FGFR signaling or specific depletion of FGFR1 prevented obesity-associated outgrowth of the D2.OR model. IMPLICATIONS Overall, this study developed a novel DIO model that allowed for demonstration of FGF2:FGFR1 signaling as a key molecular mechanism connecting obesity to breakage of systemic tumor dormancy and metastatic progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eylem Kulkoyluoglu Cotul
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States
| | - Muhammad Hassan Safdar
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States
| | - Sebastian Juan Paez
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States
| | - Aneesha Kulkarni
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States
| | - Mitchell G. Ayers
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States
| | - Hang Lin
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States
| | - Zilin Xianyu
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States
| | - Dorothy Teegarden
- Purdue University Institute for Cancer Research, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States
- Department of Nutrition Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States
| | - Stephen D. Hursting
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
- Nutrition Research Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Kannapolis, NC, United States
- Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - Michael K. Wendt
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States
- Purdue University Institute for Cancer Research, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States
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Perkins DW, Steiner I, Haider S, Robertson D, Buus R, O'Leary L, Isacke CM. Therapy-induced normal tissue damage promotes breast cancer metastasis. iScience 2024; 27:108503. [PMID: 38161426 PMCID: PMC10755366 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2023] [Revised: 11/02/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Disseminated tumor cells frequently exhibit a period of dormancy, rendering them chemotherapy insensitive; conversely, the systemic delivery of chemotherapies can result in normal tissue damage. Using multiple mouse and human breast cancer models, we demonstrate that prior chemotherapy administration enhances metastatic colonization and outgrowth. In vitro, chemotherapy-treated fibroblasts display a pro-tumorigenic senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) and are effectively eliminated by targeting the anti-apoptotic protein BCL-xL. In vivo, chemotherapy treatment induces SASP expression in normal tissues; however, the accumulation of senescent cells is limited, and BCL-xL inhibitors are unable to reduce chemotherapy-enhanced metastasis. This likely reflects that chemotherapy-exposed stromal cells do not enter a BCL-xL-dependent phenotype or switch their dependency to other anti-apoptotic BCL-2 family members. This study highlights the role of the metastatic microenvironment in controlling outgrowth of disseminated tumor cells and the need to identify additional approaches to limit the pro-tumorigenic effects of therapy-induced normal tissue damage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Douglas W. Perkins
- The Breast Cancer Now Toby Robins Research Centre, Institute of Cancer Research, 237 Fulham Road, SW3 6JB London, UK
| | - Ivana Steiner
- The Breast Cancer Now Toby Robins Research Centre, Institute of Cancer Research, 237 Fulham Road, SW3 6JB London, UK
| | - Syed Haider
- The Breast Cancer Now Toby Robins Research Centre, Institute of Cancer Research, 237 Fulham Road, SW3 6JB London, UK
| | - David Robertson
- The Breast Cancer Now Toby Robins Research Centre, Institute of Cancer Research, 237 Fulham Road, SW3 6JB London, UK
| | - Richard Buus
- The Breast Cancer Now Toby Robins Research Centre, Institute of Cancer Research, 237 Fulham Road, SW3 6JB London, UK
| | - Lynda O'Leary
- The Breast Cancer Now Toby Robins Research Centre, Institute of Cancer Research, 237 Fulham Road, SW3 6JB London, UK
| | - Clare M. Isacke
- The Breast Cancer Now Toby Robins Research Centre, Institute of Cancer Research, 237 Fulham Road, SW3 6JB London, UK
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Sreekumar A, Lu M, Choudhury B, Pan TC, Pant DK, Lawrence-Paul MR, Sterner CJ, Belka GK, Toriumi T, Benz BA, Escobar-Aguirre M, Marino FE, Esko JD, Chodosh LA. B3GALT6 promotes dormant breast cancer cell survival and recurrence by enabling heparan sulfate-mediated FGF signaling. Cancer Cell 2024; 42:52-69.e7. [PMID: 38065100 PMCID: PMC10872305 DOI: 10.1016/j.ccell.2023.11.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2023] [Revised: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2024]
Abstract
Breast cancer mortality results from incurable recurrences thought to be seeded by dormant, therapy-refractory residual tumor cells (RTCs). Understanding the mechanisms enabling RTC survival is therefore essential for improving patient outcomes. Here, we derive a dormancy-associated RTC signature that mirrors the transcriptional response to neoadjuvant therapy in patients and is enriched for extracellular matrix-related pathways. In vivo CRISPR-Cas9 screening of dormancy-associated candidate genes identifies the galactosyltransferase B3GALT6 as a functional regulator of RTC fitness. B3GALT6 is required for glycosaminoglycan (GAG) linkage to proteins to generate proteoglycans, and its germline loss of function in patients causes skeletal dysplasias. We find that B3GALT6-mediated biosynthesis of heparan sulfate GAGs predicts poor patient outcomes and promotes tumor recurrence by enhancing dormant RTC survival in multiple contexts, and does so via a B3GALT6-heparan sulfate/HS6ST1-heparan 6-O-sulfation/FGF1-FGFR2 signaling axis. These findings implicate B3GALT6 in cancer and nominate FGFR2 inhibition as a promising approach to eradicate dormant RTCs and prevent recurrence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amulya Sreekumar
- Department of Cancer Biology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Michelle Lu
- Department of Cancer Biology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Biswa Choudhury
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Glycobiology Research and Training Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Tien-Chi Pan
- Department of Cancer Biology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Dhruv K Pant
- Department of Cancer Biology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Matthew R Lawrence-Paul
- Department of Cancer Biology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Christopher J Sterner
- Department of Cancer Biology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - George K Belka
- Department of Cancer Biology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Takashi Toriumi
- Department of Cancer Biology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Brian A Benz
- Department of Cancer Biology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Matias Escobar-Aguirre
- Department of Cancer Biology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Francesco E Marino
- Department of Cancer Biology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Jeffrey D Esko
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Glycobiology Research and Training Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Lewis A Chodosh
- Department of Cancer Biology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
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Landum F, Correia AL. A Live Tracker of Dormant Disseminated Tumor Cells. Methods Mol Biol 2024; 2811:155-164. [PMID: 39037656 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3882-8_11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/23/2024]
Abstract
The high prevalence of dormant disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) persisting systemically in patients with metastatic cancer is a major threat to long-lasting cure (Aguirre-Ghiso, Nat Rev Cancer 7:834-846, 2007; Klein, Nat Rev Cancer 20(11):681-694, 2020; Lyden et al. Cancer Cell 40:787-791, 2022). Despite its clinical significance, the study of what drives DTCs in and out of dormancy while they linger in distant sites has been challenged by the lack of tools to find and follow dormant DTCs inside a living organism. Here, leveraging the fact that dormant DTCs are mostly quiescent, we describe a live cell reporter to distinguish dormant from cycling DTCs (Correia, Nat Rev Cancer 22(7):379, 2022; Correia et al. Nature 594(7864):566-571, 2021). Cancer cell lines are engineered to coexpress a luciferase-tdTomato reporter and a fluorescent fusion protein of mVenus with a mutant form of the cell cycle inhibitor p27 (mVenus-p27K-) that identifies quiescent cells. When implanted in animal models or assembled in cocultures in vitro, labeled cells can be imaged longitudinally over time or retrieved alive alongside their surrounding microenvironment for downstream gene, protein, and metabolite profiling, allowing the mapping of tissue-specific determinants of cancer dormancy and metastasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisco Landum
- Champalimaud Foundation, Champalimaud Research, Lisbon, Portugal
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Bernhardt SM, Mitchell E, Stamnes S, Hoffmann RJ, Calhoun A, Klug A, Russell TD, Pennock ND, Walker JM, Schedin P. Isogenic Mammary Models of Intraductal Carcinoma Reveal Progression to Invasiveness in the Absence of a Non-Obligatory In Situ Stage. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:2257. [PMID: 37190184 PMCID: PMC10136757 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15082257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2023] [Revised: 04/04/2023] [Accepted: 04/10/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023] Open
Abstract
In breast cancer, progression to invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) involves interactions between immune, myoepithelial, and tumor cells. Development of IDC can proceed through ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), a non-obligate, non-invasive stage, or IDC can develop without evidence of DCIS and these cases associate with poorer prognosis. Tractable, immune-competent mouse models are needed to help delineate distinct mechanisms of local tumor cell invasion and prognostic implications. To address these gaps, we delivered murine mammary carcinoma cell lines directly into the main mammary lactiferous duct of immune-competent mice. Using two strains of immune-competent mice (BALB/c, C57BL/6), one immune-compromised (severe combined immunodeficiency; SCID) C57BL/6 strain, and six different murine mammary cancer cell lines (D2.OR, D2A1, 4T1, EMT6, EO771, Py230), we found early loss of ductal myoepithelial cell differentiation markers p63, α-smooth muscle actin, and calponin, and rapid formation of IDC in the absence of DCIS. Rapid IDC formation also occurred in the absence of adaptive immunity. Combined, these studies demonstrate that loss of myoepithelial barrier function does not require an intact immune system, and suggest that these isogenic murine models may prove a useful tool to study IDC in the absence of a non-obligatory DCIS stage-an under-investigated subset of poor prognostic human breast cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah M. Bernhardt
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Cancer Biology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA
| | - Elizabeth Mitchell
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Cancer Biology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA
| | - Stephanie Stamnes
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Cancer Biology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA
| | - Reuben J. Hoffmann
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Cancer Biology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA
| | - Andrea Calhoun
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Cancer Biology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA
| | - Alex Klug
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Cancer Biology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA
| | - Tanya D. Russell
- Center for Advancing Professional Excellence, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Nathan D. Pennock
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Cancer Biology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA
- Department of Radiation Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA
| | - Joshua M. Walker
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Cancer Biology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA
- Department of Radiation Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA
| | - Pepper Schedin
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Cancer Biology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA
- Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA
- Young Women’s Breast Cancer Translational Program, University of Colorado Cancer Center, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
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Lambouras M, Roelofs C, Pereira M, Gruber E, Vieusseux JL, Lanteri P, Johnstone CN, Muntz F, O’Toole S, Ooms LM, Mitchell CA, Anderson RL, Britt KL. Functional and Phenotypic Characterisations of Common Syngeneic Tumour Cell Lines as Estrogen Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer Models. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24065666. [PMID: 36982737 PMCID: PMC10053941 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24065666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2023] [Revised: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/14/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Estrogen receptor-positive breast cancers (ER+ BCas) are the most common form of BCa and are increasing in incidence, largely due to changes in reproductive practices in recent decades. Tamoxifen is prescribed as a component of standard-of-care endocrine therapy for the treatment and prevention of ER+ BCa. However, it is poorly tolerated, leading to low uptake of the drug in the preventative setting. Alternative therapies and preventatives for ER+ BCa are needed but development is hampered due to a paucity of syngeneic ER+ preclinical mouse models that allow pre-clinical experimentation in immunocompetent mice. Two ER-positive models, J110 and SSM3, have been reported in addition to other tumour models occasionally shown to express ER (for example 4T1.2, 67NR, EO771, D2.0R and D2A1). Here, we have assessed ER expression and protein levels in seven mouse mammary tumour cell lines and their corresponding tumours, in addition to their cellular composition, tamoxifen sensitivity and molecular phenotype. By immunohistochemical assessment, SSM3 and, to a lesser extent, 67NR cells are ER+. Using flow cytometry and transcript expression we show that SSM3 cells are luminal in nature, whilst D2.0R and J110 cells are stromal/basal. The remainder are also stromal/basal in nature; displaying a stromal or basal Epcam/CD49f FACS phenotype and stromal and basal gene expression signatures are overrepresented in their transcript profile. Consistent with a luminal identity for SSM3 cells, they also show sensitivity to tamoxifen in vitro and in vivo. In conclusion, the data indicate that the SSM3 syngeneic cell line is the only definitively ER+ mouse mammary tumour cell line widely available for pre-clinical research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Lambouras
- Breast Cancer Risk and Prevention Laboratory, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, 305 Grattan St, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
- Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Charlotte Roelofs
- Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute, Heidelberg, VIC 3084, Australia
| | - Melrine Pereira
- Breast Cancer Risk and Prevention Laboratory, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, 305 Grattan St, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
| | - Emily Gruber
- The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
- Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
| | - Jessica L. Vieusseux
- Breast Cancer Risk and Prevention Laboratory, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, 305 Grattan St, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
| | - Patrick Lanteri
- Breast Cancer Risk and Prevention Laboratory, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, 305 Grattan St, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
- Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
| | - Cameron N. Johnstone
- Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute, Heidelberg, VIC 3084, Australia
- School of Cancer Medicine, La Trobe University, Heidelberg, VIC 3084, Australia
| | - Fenella Muntz
- The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
| | - Sandra O’Toole
- Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2050, Australia
- Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Darlinghurst, NSW 2010, Australia
- Australian Clinical Labs, Sydney, NSW 2153, Australia
| | - Lisa M. Ooms
- Cancer Program, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Christina A. Mitchell
- Cancer Program, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Robin L. Anderson
- Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute, Heidelberg, VIC 3084, Australia
- The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
- Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
- School of Cancer Medicine, La Trobe University, Heidelberg, VIC 3084, Australia
| | - Kara L. Britt
- Breast Cancer Risk and Prevention Laboratory, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, 305 Grattan St, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
- Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
- Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +61-38599-7110
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NR2F1, a Tumor Dormancy Marker, Is Expressed Predominantly in Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts and Is Associated with Suppressed Breast Cancer Cell Proliferation. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14122962. [PMID: 35740627 PMCID: PMC9220877 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14122962] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2022] [Revised: 06/03/2022] [Accepted: 06/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Tumor dormancy is a crucial mechanism responsible for the late recurrence of breast cancer. Thus, we investigated the clinical relevance of the expression of NR2F1, a known dormancy biomarker. METHODS A total of 6758 transcriptomes of bulk tumors from multiple breast cancer patient cohorts and two single-cell sequence cohorts were analyzed. RESULTS Breast cancer (BC) with high NR2F1 expression enriched TGFβ signaling, multiple metastases, and stem cell-related pathways. Cell proliferation-related gene sets were suppressed, and MKi67 expression was lower in high NR2F1 BC. In tumors with high Nottingham grade, NR2F1 expression was found to be lower. There was no consistent relationship between NR2F1 expression and metastasis or survival. Cancer mutation rates, immune responses, and immune cell infiltrations were lower in high NR2F1 tumors, whereas the infiltration of stromal cells including cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) was higher. NR2F1 was predominantly expressed in CAFs, particularly inflammatory CAFs, rather than in cancer cells, consistently in the two single-cell sequence cohorts. CONCLUSIONS NR2F1 expression in breast cancer is associated with tumor dormancy traits, and it is predominantly expressed in CAFs in the tumor microenvironment.
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