Breast cancer: Why metastasis spreads to the bone
Date:
April 21, 2022
Source:
Universite' de Gene`ve
Summary:
When cancer cells break away from a primary tumor and migrate
to other organs, this is called 'metastatic cancer.' The organs
affected by these metastases, however, depend in part on their
tissue of origin. In the case of breast cancer, they usually form
in the bones.
FULL STORY ==========================================================================
When cancer cells break away from a primary tumor and migrate to other
organs, this is called "metastatic cancer." The organs affected by these metastases, however, depend in part on their tissue of origin. In the
case of breast cancer, they usually form in the bones. In an attempt to identify what determines the organs affected by metastasis, a team from
the University of Geneva (UNIGE), in collaboration with researchers from
ETH Zurich, has identified a protein involved in this phenomenon. This discovery could lead to the development of therapeutic approaches
to suppress metastasis. This work can be read in the journal Nature Communications.
==========================================================================
From the primary site of a tumor, cancer cells can invade their microenvironment and then circulate via blood and lymphatic vessels to
distant healthy tissue to form metastases. In the case of metastatic
breast cancer, the cancer cells primarily colonize the bones, but can
also be found in other organs such as the liver, lungs or brain.
Plasticity of tumor cells Although the molecular and cellular mechanisms responsible for the different stages of the metastatic process are
not yet fully understood, studies show that cellular plasticity plays
an important role. This term refers to the ability of cells to change
function and/or form. Thus, tumor cells that become metastatic change
their shape and become mobile.
The laboratory of Professor Didier Picard of the Department of Molecular
and Cellular Biology at the Faculty of Science is interested in the
mechanisms that govern the metastatic processes related to breast
cancer. His group collaborated with Professor Nicolas Aceto's group at
ETHZ to study these processes in mice. The biologists investigated the potential role of the protein ZEB1, known to increase cell plasticity,
in breast cancer cell migration.
''Unlike in women, mice transplanted with human breast cancer cells
develop metastasis to the lungs, not the bones,'' says Nastaran Mohammadi Ghahhari, researcher in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology
and first author of the study. ''We therefore sought to identify factors capable of inducing metastasis in bone tissue and in particular tested
the effect of the factor ZEB1,'' continues Nastaran Mohammadi Ghahhari.
Directing metastasis to bone In in vitro migration and invasion
experiments, the scientists found that cancer cells expressing ZEB1 moved
to bone tissue, unlike cancer cells that did not express it. These results
were later confirmed when human breast cancer cells were transplanted into
the mammary glands of mice. If the cancer cells did not express ZEB1, metastasis occured primarily in the lungs. In contrast, when ZEB1 was
present, metastases also developed in the bones, as is the case in women.
''We can therefore assume that this factor is expressed during tumor
formation and that it directs cells that have acquired metastatic characteristics to the bones,'' explains Didier Picard, the study's
last author. This study confirms the importance of the plasticity of
tumor cells during the metastatic process and could allow, in the long
term, to consider new therapeutic approaches to prevent the appearance
of metastases.
========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Universite'_de_Gene`ve. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.
========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Nastaran Mohammadi Ghahhari, Magdalena K. Sznurkowska, Nicolas Hulo,
Lilia Bernasconi, Nicola Aceto, Didier Picard. Cooperative
interaction between ERa and the EMT-inducer ZEB1 reprograms breast
cancer cells for bone metastasis. Nature Communications, 2022; 13
(1) DOI: 10.1038/s41467- 022-29723-5 ==========================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220421141615.htm
--- up 7 weeks, 3 days, 10 hours, 51 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)