Opposing Effects of Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor on the Initiation and Progression of Breast Cancer Bone Metastases

Dissecting the emerging role of cancer-associated adipocyte-derived cytokines in remodeling breast cancer progression

Breast cancer has been reported to transcend lung cancer as the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women all over the world. Adipocytes, serving as energy storage and endocrine cells, are the major stromal cells in the breast. Cancer-associated adipocytes (CAAs) are adjacent and dedifferentiated adipocytes located at the invasive front of human breast tumors. Adipocytes can transform into CAA phenotype with morphological and biological changes under the remodeling of breast cancer cells. CAAs play an essential role in breast cancer progression, including remodeling the tumor microenvironment (TME), regulating immunity, and interacting with breast cancer cells. CAAs possess peculiar secretomes and are accordingly capable to promote proliferation, invasiveness, angiogenesis, metastasis, immune escape, and drug resistance of breast cancer cells. There is a complex and coordinated crosstalk among CAAs, immune cells, and breast cancer cells. CAAs can release a variety of cytokines, including IL-6, IL-8, IL-1β, CCL5, CCL2, VEGF, G-CSF, IGF-1, and IGFBP, thereby promoting immune cell recruitment and macrophage polarization, and ultimately stimulating malignant behaviors in breast cancer cells. Here, we aim to provide a comprehensive description of CAA-derived cytokines, including their impact on cancer cell behaviors, immune regulation, breast cancer diagnosis, and treatment. A deeper understanding of CAA performance and interactions with specific TME cell populations will provide better strategies for cancer treatment and breast reconstruction after mastectomy.

The role of host response to chemotherapy: resistance, metastasis and clinical implications

Chemotherapy remains the primary treatment for most metastatic cancers. However, the response to chemotherapy and targeted agents is often transient, and concurrent development of resistance is the primary impediment to effective cancer therapy. Strategies to overcome resistance to treatment have focused on cancer cell intrinsic factors and the tumor microenvironment (TME). Recent evidence indicates that systemic chemotherapy has a significant impact on the host that either facilitates tumor growth, allowing metastatic spread, or renders treatment ineffective. These host responses include the release of bone marrow-derived cells, activation of stromal cells in the TME, and induction of different molecular effectors. Here, we provide an overview of chemotherapy-induced systemic host responses that support tumor aggressiveness and metastasis, and which contribute to therapy resistance. Studying host responses to chemotherapy provides a solid basis for the development of adjuvant strategies to improve treatment outcomes and delay resistance to chemotherapy. This review discusses the emerging field of host response to cancer therapy, and its preclinical and potential clinical implications, explaining how under certain circumstances, these host effects contribute to metastasis and resistance to chemotherapy.

Dynamic changes in B cell subpopulations in response to triple-negative breast cancer development

Despite presenting a worse prognosis and being associated with highly aggressive tumors, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is characterized by the higher frequency of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, which have been implicated in better overall survival and response to therapy. Though recent studies have reported the capacity of B lymphocytes to recognize overly-expressed normal proteins, and tumor-associated antigens, how tumor development potentially modifies B cell response is yet to be elucidated. Our findings reveal distinct effects of 4T1 and E0771 murine tumor development on B cells in secondary lymphoid organs. Notably, we observe a significant expansion of total B cells and plasma cells in the tumor-draining lymph nodes (tDLNs) as early as 7 days after tumor challenge in both murine models, whereas changes in the spleen are less pronounced. Surprisingly, within the tumor microenvironment (TME) of both models, we detect distinct B cell subpopulations, but tumor development does not appear to cause major alterations in their frequency over time. Furthermore, our investigation into B cell regulatory phenotypes highlights that the B10 Breg phenotype remains unaffected in the evaluated tissues. Most importantly, we identified an increase in CD19 + LAG-3 + cells in tDLNs of both murine models. Interestingly, although CD19 + LAG-3 + cells represent a minor subset of total B cells (< 3%) in all evaluated tissues, most of these cells exhibit elevated expression of IgD, suggesting that LAG-3 may serve as an activation marker for B cells. Corroborating with these findings, we detected distinct cell cycle and proliferation genes alongside LAG-3 analyzing scRNA-Seq data from a cohort of TNBC patients. More importantly, our study suggests that the presence of LAG-3 B cells in breast tumors could be associated with a good prognosis, as patients with higher levels of LAG-3 B cell transcripts had a longer progression-free interval (PFI). This novel insight could pave the way for targeted therapies that harness the unique properties of LAG-3 + B cells, potentially offering new avenues for improving patient outcomes in TNBC. Further research is warranted to unravel the mechanistic pathways of these cells and to validate their prognostic value in larger, diverse patient cohorts.

Primary tumor-induced immunity suppresses bone metastases of breast cancer in syngeneic immunocompetent mouse models

The immune system plays a crucial role in cancer development and progression. More than a century ago, mouse models showed that primary tumors suppressed the growth of newly implanted secondary tumors. This phenomenon, in which tumor-primed T cells mediate the rejection of tumor growth at a distant site, is known as concomitant tumor immunity. Here, we investigated the role of concomitant immunity in the development of breast cancer bone metastases using newly developed syngeneic immunocompetent mouse models. The presence of primary breast tumors developed by tumor cell injection into the mammary fat pads (MFPs) significantly reduced bone metastases of mouse breast cancer 4T1 and EMT6 cells induced by cell injection through the caudal artery (CA). Similar results were obtained when primary tumors were surgically resected prior to CA injection of tumor cells. In contrast, no inhibition was found when MFP and CA injections were performed using different cell combinations. Immunohistochemical studies revealed that the number of CD8+ T cells in bone metastases of 4T1 and EMT6 cells was significantly increased in the presence of primary tumors. The primary tumor-induced inhibition of bone metastases was not reproduced in T cell-deficient athymic nude mice. Furthermore, depletion of CD8+ T cells using an anti-CD8α antibody also abolished the primary tumor-induced inhibition of bone metastases. Taken together, these results suggest that immune cell priming by orthotopic breast tumors inhibits the development of breast cancer bone metastases, which is predominantly mediated by CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes.

The pleiotropic roles of adipocyte secretome in remodeling breast cancer

Background

Breast cancer is the leading female cancer type and the cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Adipocytes possess important functions of energy supply, metabolic regulation, and cytokine release, and are also the matrix cell that supports mammary gland tissue. In breast cancer tumor microenvironment (TME), adipocytes are the prominent stromal cells and are implicated in inflammation, metastatic formation, metabolic remodeling, and cancer susceptibility.

Main body

It is well-established that adipocyte secretome is a reservoir engaged in the regulation of tumor cell behavior by secreting a large number of cytokines (IL-6, IL-8, and chemokines), adipokines (leptin, adiponectin, autotaxin, and resistin), lipid metabolites (free fatty acids and β-hydroxybutyrate), and other exosome-encapsulated substances. These released factors influence the evolution and clinical outcome of breast cancer through complex mechanisms. The progression of breast cancer tumors revolves around the tumor-adipose stromal network, which may contribute to breast cancer aggressiveness by increasing the pro-malignant potential of TME and tumor cells themselves. Most importantly, the secretome alterations of adipocytes are regarded as distinctly important targets for breast cancer diagnosis, treatment, and drug resistance.

Conclusion

Therefore, this review will provide a comprehensive description of the specific adipocyte secretome characteristics and interactions within TME cell populations, which will enable us to better tailor strategies for tumor stratification management and treatment.