Project description:The lungs are a frequent target of metastatic breast cancer cells, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are unclear. All existing data were obtained either using statistical association between gene expression measurements found in primary tumors and clinical outcome, or using experimentally derived signatures from mouse tumor models. Here, we describe a distinct approach that consists to utilize tissue surgically resected from lung metastatic lesions and compare their gene expression profiles with those from non-pulmonary sites, all coming from breast cancer patients. We demonstrate that the gene expression profiles of organ-specific metastatic lesions can be used to predict lung metastasis in breast cancer. We identified a set of 21 lung metastasis-associated genes. Using a cohort of 72 lymph node-negative breast cancer patients, we developed a six-gene prognostic classifier that discriminated breast primary cancers with a significantly higher risk of lung metastasis. We then validated the predictive ability of the six-gene signature in 3 independent cohorts of breast cancers consisting of a total of 721 patients. Finally, we demonstrated that the signature improves risk stratification independently of known standard clinical parameters and a previously established lung metastasis signature based on an experimental breast cancer metastasis model. Keywords: Disease state analysis
Project description:Mental stress is widely recognized as a significant risk factor for breast cancer, exerting detrimental effects on both progression and prognosis. Herein, we investigated the role of stress in regulating breast cancer metastasis. In genetically engineered and transplantation breast cancer mouse models, chronic stress stimulation increased tumor growth and lung metastasis. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis of the pre-metastatic lung microenvironment revealed induction of a previously unrecognized subtype of cancer stress-primed (CSP) neutrophils, characterized by the overexpression of Ccl3, Ccl4, Cxcl2, Il1r2, and Cebpb. Pseudotime trajectory analysis demonstrated that chronic stress caused a shift of neutrophils from the cancer-primed (CP) neutrophil subtype to the CSP subtype in the lung. Activation of the glucocorticoid receptor NR3C1 by the stress hormone corticosterone induced expression of Cebpb in neutrophils, which then promoted transcription of Ccl3 and Ccl4. The differentiation of neutrophils into the CSP subtype promoted lung metastasis of CCR1+ breast cancer cells via CCL3/CCL4-mediated recruitment. Targeting this axis using an anti-Ly6G antibody to deplete neutrophils, a CRISPR/Cas9-mediated approach to conditionally knockout Ccl3/Ccl4 in neutrophils, and BX471 treatment to inhibit CCR1 in cancer cells all significantly reduced breast cancer lung metastasis. Together, this study not only demonstrates a stress-neutrophil-cancer axis that promotes lung metastasis in breast cancer but also provides potential strategies for reducing lung metastasis by targeting CSP neutrophils or CCR1+ breast cancer cells.
Project description:The lungs are a frequent target of metastatic breast cancer cells, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are unclear. All existing data were obtained either using statistical association between gene expression measurements found in primary tumors and clinical outcome, or using experimentally derived signatures from mouse tumor models. Here, we describe a distinct approach that consists to utilize tissue surgically resected from lung metastatic lesions and compare their gene expression profiles with those from non-pulmonary sites, all coming from breast cancer patients. We demonstrate that the gene expression profiles of organ-specific metastatic lesions can be used to predict lung metastasis in breast cancer. We identified a set of 21 lung metastasis-associated genes. Using a cohort of 72 lymph node-negative breast cancer patients, we developed a six-gene prognostic classifier that discriminated breast primary cancers with a significantly higher risk of lung metastasis. We then validated the predictive ability of the six-gene signature in 3 independent cohorts of breast cancers consisting of a total of 721 patients. Finally, we demonstrated that the signature improves risk stratification independently of known standard clinical parameters and a previously established lung metastasis signature based on an experimental breast cancer metastasis model. Experiment Overall Design: We used microarrays to identify lung metastasis-related genes in a series of 23 patients with breast cancer metastases. No replicate, no reference sample.
Project description:IL13Rα2 overexpression promotes metastasis of basal-like breast cancers IL13Rα2 depletion in highly metastatic breast cancer cells suppresses lung metastases formation by upregulating TP63 and decreasing their migratory potential
Project description:Metastasis is the leading cause of breast cancer-related death, with lung metastasis occurring in more than 60% of breast cancer (BRCA) patients. Small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) play crucial roles in breast cancer metastasis. Dipeptidyl peptidase 3 (DPP3) is an enzyme that hydrolyzes various peptides, and its dysregulation contributes to multiple pathology processes. However, the role of DPP3 in breast cancer lung metastasis is poorly understood. In this study, we discovered a novel mechanism whereby DPP3, packaged in small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) from breast cancer, is delivered to lung tissue to remodel the vascular niche to promote lung metastasis.
Project description:The skeleton is the most common metastasis site of breast cancer cells and the molecular underpinning of this process is incompletely understood. The tumor suppressor gene deleted in liver cancer-1 (DLC1) encodes a multi-domain protein including a RhoGTPase activating protein (RhoGAP) domain and has been reported to suppress the lung colonization of breast cancer cells. However, the role of DLC1 in breast cancer bone metastasis and the importance of RhoGAP-dependent and -independent pathways in this process remain unclear. Here, we showed that DLC1 silencing is linked to enhanced bone-tropism of breast cancer cell lines and poor prognosis of clinical samples. In the study presented here, DLC1 was overexpressed in the SCP2 breast cancer cells, and the control SCP2 and overexpression cells were treated with TGFbeta. Microarray profiling of mRNA levels was performed in the control and overexpression cells with or without TGFbeta treatment.