Ganetespib blocks HIF-1 activity and inhibits tumor growth, vascularization, stem cell maintenance, invasion, and metastasis in orthotopic mouse models of triple-negative breast cancer

AbstractTriple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is known for being very aggressive, heterogeneous and highly metastatic. The standard of care treatment is still chemotherapy, with adjacent toxicity and low efficacy, highlighting the need for alternative and more effective therapeutic strategies. Edelfosine, an alkyl-lysophospholipid, has proved to be a promising therapy for several cancer types, upon delivery in lipid nanoparticles. Therefore, the objective of this work was to explore the potential of edelfosine for the treatment of TNBC. Edelfosine nanoemulsions (ET-NEs) composed by edelfosine, Miglyol 812 and phosphatidylcholine as excipients, due to their good safety profile, presented an average size of about 120 nm and a neutral zeta potential, and were stable in biorelevant media. The ability of ET-NEs to interrupt tumor growth in TNBC was demonstrated both in vitro, using a highly aggressive and invasive TNBC cell line, and in vivo, using zebrafish embryos. Importantly, ET-NEs were able to penetrate through the skin barrier of MDA-MB 231 xenografted zebrafish embryos, into the yolk sac, leading to an effective decrease of highly aggressive and invasive tumoral cells’ proliferation. Altogether the results demonstrate the potential of ET-NEs for the development of new therapeutic approaches for TNBC.

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Isolation and Establishment of a Highly Proliferative, Cancer Stem Cell-Like, and Naturally Immortalized Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cell Line, KAIMRC2

Cells ◽

10.3390/cells10061303 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (6) ◽

pp. 1303

Author(s):

Rizwan Ali ◽

Hajar Al Zahrani ◽

Tlili Barhoumi ◽

Alshaimaa Alhallaj ◽

Abdullah Mashhour ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Stem Cell ◽

Cancer Stem Cell ◽

Cell Line ◽

Cancer Cell ◽

Triple Negative Breast Cancer ◽

Breast Cancer Cell Line ◽

Triple Negative ◽

Cancer Cell Line

In vitro studies of a disease are key to any in vivo investigation in understanding the disease and developing new therapy regimens. Immortalized cancer cell lines are the best and easiest model for studying cancer in vitro. Here, we report the establishment of a naturally immortalized highly tumorigenic and triple-negative breast cancer cell line, KAIMRC2. This cell line is derived from a Saudi Arabian female breast cancer patient with invasive ductal carcinoma. Immunocytochemistry showed a significant ratio of the KAIMRC2 cells’ expressing key breast epithelial and cancer stem cells (CSCs) markers, including CD47, CD133, CD49f, CD44, and ALDH-1A1. Gene and protein expression analysis showed overexpression of ABC transporter and AKT-PI3Kinase as well as JAK/STAT signaling pathways. In contrast, the absence of the tumor suppressor genes p53 and p73 may explain their high proliferative index. The mice model also confirmed the tumorigenic potential of the KAIMRC2 cell line, and drug tolerance studies revealed few very potent candidates. Our results confirmed an aggressive phenotype with metastatic potential and cancer stem cell-like characteristics of the KAIMR2 cell line. Furthermore, we have also presented potent small molecule inhibitors, especially Ryuvidine, that can be further developed, alone or in synergy with other potent inhibitors, to target multiple cancer-related pathways.

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Delivery of miR-381-3p Mimic by Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Exosomes Inhibits Triple Negative Breast Cancer Aggressiveness; an In Vitro Study

Stem Cell Reviews and Reports ◽

10.1007/s12015-020-10089-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Samaneh Shojaei ◽

Seyed Mahmoud Hashemi ◽

Hossein Ghanbarian ◽

Kazem Sharifi ◽

Mohammad Salehi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Stem Cell ◽

Mesenchymal Stem Cell ◽

Triple Negative Breast Cancer ◽

Triple Negative ◽

In Vitro Study ◽

Vitro Study ◽

Cancer Aggressiveness

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The extracellular-regulated protein kinase 5 (ERK5) enhances metastatic burden in triple-negative breast cancer through focal adhesion protein kinase (FAK)-mediated regulation of cell adhesion

Oncogene ◽

10.1038/s41388-021-01798-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Qiuping Xu ◽

Jingwei Zhang ◽

Brian A. Telfer ◽

Hao Zhang ◽

Nisha Ali ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Protein Kinase ◽

Tumor Growth ◽

Focal Adhesion ◽

Triple Negative Breast Cancer ◽

Triple Negative ◽

Metastatic Breast ◽

Adhesion Protein ◽

Focal Adhesion Protein

AbstractThere is overwhelming clinical evidence that the extracellular-regulated protein kinase 5 (ERK5) is significantly dysregulated in human breast cancer. However, there is no definite understanding of the requirement of ERK5 in tumor growth and metastasis due to very limited characterization of the pathway in disease models. In this study, we report that a high level of ERK5 is a predictive marker of metastatic breast cancer. Mechanistically, our in vitro data revealed that ERK5 was critical for maintaining the invasive capability of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells through focal adhesion protein kinase (FAK) activation. Specifically, we found that phosphorylation of FAK at Tyr397 was controlled by a kinase-independent function of ERK5. Accordingly, silencing ERK5 in mammary tumor grafts impaired FAK phosphorylation at Tyr397 and suppressed TNBC cell metastasis to the lung without preventing tumor growth. Collectively, these results establish a functional relationship between ERK5 and FAK signaling in promoting malignancy. Thus, targeting the oncogenic ERK5-FAK axis represents a promising therapeutic strategy for breast cancer exhibiting aggressive clinical behavior.

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