Extracellular circular RNAs to promote the growth and metastasis of triple-negative breast cancer through remodeling the tumor immune microenvironment.

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e13047-e13047
Author(s):  
Sujin Yang ◽  
Jinhai Tang

e13047 Background: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has been confirmed to have a high degree of heterogeneity of breast cancer, which is more common in young women, with a high degree of malignancy, lack of effective clinical treatment and poor prognosis. Recently, many studies have also found that immune microenvironment (IME) can remarkablely affect the occurrence and metastasis of TNBC through exosome-mediated molecular transmission. Therefore, there is an urgent need to find new immune-related molecules as therapeutic targets and to predict the progress of TNBC and prognosis of treatment. Methods: Using RNA-sequencing and bioinformatics analysis, we found the differential-expressed circular RNAs (circRNAs) in exosomes from TNBC cell lines (BT549 and MDA-MB-231), non-TNBC cell lines (MCF-7 and MCF-10A) and tissues from breast cancer patients. Then, we used CIBERSORT and ESTIMATE algorithm to explore the tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TICs) or stromal components in IME, and identified the significant differential-expressed mRNAs in the immune cells between TNBC and non-TNBC samples. RT-qPCR was used to confirm the expression level of selected circRNAs and mRNAs in TNBC cell lines. Results: We profiled the circRNAs in the exosomes from TNBC cell lines and breast cancer patients by RNA sequencing and detected 27 significantly differentially-expressed circRNAs. After bioinformatic analysis and RT-qPCR, circRELB and circANXA1 were chose to further study. TICs and IME scores were found to associated with the survival and clinicopathological characteristics of TNBC patients and IME remodeling. Interestingly, 92 differentially-expressed genes were found to be enriched in the NF-kB signaling pathway and mTOR signaling pathway. Moreover, we identified 33 target genes of circRELB and circANXA1 by cross-analysis. Based on the predicted miRNAs and the corresponding mRNAs and circRNAs, we have established an IME-related circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network. Then, Kaplan-Meier plots showed the expression levels of certain targeted genes (PTEN, CCND1, IL6, CDKN1A, AKT1, TNF and WNT1) were connected to prognosis in TNBC metastasis patients. Conclusions: The expression levels of circRELB and circANXA1 was found significantly upregulated in exosomes from TNBC cell lines and tumor tissues from breast cancer patients. In addition, circRELB and circANXA1could affect the expression of downstream target genes by competing for endogenous RNA (ceRNAs), and ultimately promote the metastasis of TNBC and remodeling of IME. In summary, this study analyzes the mechanisms of exosome-contained circRNAs in TNBC and these targets from the IME-related circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network may be new potential prognostic biomarkers and immune treatment strategies to prevent the development and metastasis of TNBC.

2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e14605-e14605
Author(s):  
D. Tryfonopoulos ◽  
N. O'Donovan ◽  
B. Corkery ◽  
M. Clynes ◽  
J. Crown

e14605 Background: Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) lack expression of oestrogen, progesterone, and are HER-2 normal. TNBC cell lines have displayed greater sensitivity to growth inhibition by the multi-target kinase inhibitor, dasatinib, than luminal or HER- 2 positive breast cancer cell lines. The aim of this study was to assess the direct anti-tumor effects of dasatinib in combination with chemotherapy in TNBC. Methods: Four TNBC cell lines (MDA-MB-231, HCC-1143, HCC-1937, MDA-MB-468) were treated with dasatinib in combination with docetaxel, cisplatin or 5'-5' DFUR. IC50 values were calculated for each drug alone by determining response in a 5-day proliferation (acid phosphatase) assay. Combination index (CI) values were determined, using CalcuSyn, to assess the interaction between drugs. Results: Three of the cell lines (MDA-MB-231, HCC- 1143, HCC-1937) were sensitive to dasatinib (IC50 < 1 μM) whereas MDA-MB-468 was resistant (IC50 > 1 μM) (Table). In MDA-MB-231 and HCC-1143 cells, combined treatment with dasatinib and 5'-5'-DFUR displayed synergy (CI<1.0), whereas the combination was additive in HCC-1937 cells (CI=0.98). Combined treatment with dasatinib and cisplatin was synergistic in the three dasatinib sensitive cell lines (CI<1.0). Dasatinib in combination with docetaxel displayed moderate synergy in MDA-MB-231 and HCC-1937 cells (CI<1.0), but was antagonistic in HCC-1143 cells (CI>1.0). Conclusions: Our findings show that the combination of dasatinib with either 5'-5'-DFUR or cisplatin is synergistic in TNBC cell lines, and suggest that combinations of dasatinib with chemotherapy may improve response in triple negative breast cancer patients. [Table: see text] No significant financial relationships to disclose.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinyu Deng ◽  
Morris Kohanfars ◽  
Huan Ming Hsu ◽  
Puneet Souda ◽  
Joe Capri ◽  
...  

Because of the absence of a clear therapeutic target for triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), conventional chemotherapy is the only available systemic treatment option for these patients. Despite chemotherapy treatment, TNBC patients still have worse prognosis when compared with other breast cancer patients. The study is to investigate unique phosphorylated proteins expressed in chemoresistant TNBC cell lines. In the current study, twelve TNBC cell lines were subjected to drug sensitivity assays against chemotherapy drugs docetaxel, doxorubicin, gemcitabine, and cisplatin. Based on their half maximal inhibitory concentrations, four resistant and two sensitive cell lines were selected for further analysis. The phosphopeptides from these cells were enriched with TiO2 beads and fractionated using strong cation exchange. 1,645 phosphoprotein groups and 9,585 unique phosphopeptides were identified by a high throughput LC-MS/MS system LTQ-Orbitrap. The phosphopeptides were further filtered with Ascore system and 1,340 phosphoprotein groups, 2,760 unique phosphopeptides, and 4,549 unique phosphosites were identified. Our study suggested that differentially phosphorylated Cdk5, PML, AP-1, and HSF-1 might work together to promote vimentin induced epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) in the drug resistant cells. EGFR and HGF were also shown to be involved in this process.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinxing Wang ◽  
Bingjian Xue ◽  
Yujie Zhang ◽  
Guangcheng Guo ◽  
Xin Duan ◽  
...  

AbstractAn increasing amount of evidence has proven the vital role of circular RNAs (circRNAs) in cancer progression. However, there remains a dearth of knowledge on the function of circRNAs in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Utilizing a circRNA microarray dataset, four circRNAs were identified to be abnormally expressed in TNBC. Among them, circBACH2 was most significantly elevated in TNBC cancerous tissues and its high expression was positively correlated to the malignant progression of TNBC patients. In normal human mammary gland cell line, the overexpression of circBACH2 facilitated epithelial to mesenchymal transition and cell proliferation. In TNBC cell lines, circBACH2 knockdown suppressed the malignant progression of TNBC cells. Mechanistically, circBACH2 sponged miR-186-5p and miR-548c-3p, thus releasing the C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) expression. The interference of miR-186-5p/miR-548c-3p efficiently promoted the cell proliferation, migration, and invasion suppressed by circBACH2 knockdown in the TNBC cell lines. Finally, circBACH2 knockdown repressed the growth and lung metastasis of TNBC xenografts in nude mice. In summary, circBACH2 functions as an oncogenic circRNA in TNBC through a novel miR-186-5p/miR-548c-3p/CXCR4 axis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (10) ◽  
pp. 5382
Author(s):  
Pei-Yi Chu ◽  
Hsing-Ju Wu ◽  
Shin-Mae Wang ◽  
Po-Ming Chen ◽  
Feng-Yao Tang ◽  
...  

(1) Background: methionine cycle is not only essential for cancer cell proliferation but is also critical for metabolic reprogramming, a cancer hallmark. Hepatic and extrahepatic tissues methionine adenosyltransferases (MATs) are products of two genes, MAT1A and MAT2A that catalyze the formation of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM), the principal biological methyl donor. Glycine N-methyltransferase (GNMT) further utilizes SAM for sarcosine formation, thus it regulates the ratio of SAM:S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH). (2) Methods: by analyzing the TCGA/GTEx datasets available within GEPIA2, we discovered that breast cancer patients with higher MAT2A had worse survival rate (p = 0.0057). Protein expression pattern of MAT1AA, MAT2A and GNMT were investigated in the tissue microarray in our own cohort (n = 252) by immunohistochemistry. MAT2A C/N expression ratio and cell invasion activity were further investigated in a panel of breast cancer cell lines. (3) Results: GNMT and MAT1A were detected in the cytoplasm, whereas MAT2A showed both cytoplasmic and nuclear immunoreactivity. Neither GNMT nor MAT1A protein expression was associated with patient survival rate in our cohort. Kaplan–Meier survival curves showed that a higher cytoplasmic/nuclear (C/N) MAT2A protein expression ratio correlated with poor overall survival (5 year survival rate: 93.7% vs. 83.3%, C/N ratio ≥ 1.0 vs. C/N ratio < 1.0, log-rank p = 0.004). Accordingly, a MAT2A C/N expression ratio ≥ 1.0 was determined as an independent risk factor by Cox regression analysis (hazard ratio = 2.771, p = 0.018, n = 252). In vitro studies found that breast cancer cell lines with a higher MAT2A C/N ratio were more invasive. (4) Conclusions: the subcellular localization of MAT2A may affect its functions, and elevated MAT2A C/N ratio in breast cancer cells is associated with increased invasiveness. MAT2A C/N expression ratio determined by IHC staining could serve as a novel independent prognostic marker for breast cancer.


Breast Cancer ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yingzi Zhang ◽  
Jiao Tian ◽  
Chi Qu ◽  
Yang Peng ◽  
Jinwei Lei ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Recent studies have indicated that serpin peptidase inhibitor, clade A, member 3 (SERPINA3) is a potential marker associated with tumor progression, which connoted that SERPINA3 is related to malignant phenotypes in cancer. However, the biological function of SERPINA3 in breast cancer (BC) remains unclear. Methods Bioinformatics data were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. Immunohistochemical staining (IHC) was conducted to determine SERPINA3 expression. With strong aggressive abilities, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell lines (MDA-MB-231, BT549 and MDA-MB-436) were obtained to examine SERPINA3 expression and functions. Wound healing and Transwell assays were performed to measure cell migration and invasion. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay was conducted to detect cell proliferation abilities and cell viabilities. Results SERPINA3 was upregulated in BC tissues. Functional assays suggested that overexpression of SERPINA3 significantly promoted cell proliferation, where migration and invasion of TNBC cells were accelerated. Knockdown of SERPINA3 had the opposite effects. These results causing by overexpression of SERPINA3 were also confirmed in non-TNBC cell lines. Overexpression of SERPINA3 remarkably enhanced the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) by upregulating the EMT markers and EZH2. In addition, the overexpression of SERPINA3 reduced the sensitivity of TNBC cells to cisplatin. Conclusion SERPINA3 can regulate the migration, invasion and EMT of TNBC cells and increased expression of SERPINA3 confers resistance to cisplatin in TNBC cells. We discern it is required for the regulation of BC progression and is a critical target for the clinical treatment of BC.


Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 2
Author(s):  
Lee D. Gibbs ◽  
Kelsey Mansheim ◽  
Sayantan Maji ◽  
Rajesh Nandy ◽  
Cheryl M. Lewis ◽  
...  

Increasing evidence suggests that AnxA2 contributes to invasion and metastasis of breast cancer. However, the clinical significance of AnxA2 expression in breast cancer has not been reported. The expression of AnxA2 in cell lines, tumor tissues, and serum samples of breast cancer patients were analyzed by immunoblotting, immunohistochemistry, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. We found that AnxA2 was significantly upregulated in tumor tissues and serum samples of breast cancer patients compared with normal controls. The high expression of serum AnxA2 was significantly associated with tumor grades and poor survival of the breast cancer patients. Based on molecular subtypes, AnxA2 expression was significantly elevated in tumor tissues and serum samples of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients compared with other breast cancer subtypes. Our analyses on breast cancer cell lines demonstrated that secretion of AnxA2 is associated with its tyrosine 23 (Tyr23) phosphorylation in cells. The expression of non-phosphomimetic mutant of AnxA2 in HCC1395 cells inhibits its secretion from cells compared to wild-type AnxA2, which further suggest that Tyr23 phosphorylation is a critical step for AnxA2 secretion from TNBC cells. Our analysis of AnxA2 phosphorylation in clinical samples further confirmed that the phosphorylation of AnxA2 at Tyr23 was high in tumor tissues of TNBC patients compared to matched adjacent non-tumorigenic breast tissues. Furthermore, we observed that the diagnostic value of serum AnxA2 was significantly high in TNBC compared with other breast cancer subtypes. These findings suggest that serum AnxA2 concentration could be a potential diagnostic biomarker for TNBC patients.


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