16 research outputs found

    The Influence of Overweight- and Obesity-associated Mammary Adipose Inflammation on Progression of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

    Get PDF
    Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBCs) are a collection of highly proliferative and invasive breast cancers primarily comprised of the basal-like (BBC) and claudin-low (CLBCs) molecular subtypes. We previously reported that weight gain and weight loss regulated pre-neoplastic lesion formation, tumor latency, and tumor progression in C3(1)-TAg mice, a transgenic model of spontaneous BBC. These findings coincided with elevated concentration of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), ligand for the proto-oncogene cMET, in the mammary microenvironment of high-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice. Thus, herein we conducted a two-phase study investigating whether crizotinib, an inhibitor of cMET, would delay onset of BBC in low-fat (LFD) and HFD-fed C3(1)-TAg mice. When administered prophylactically ā€“ before tumor onset ā€“ crizotinib did not significantly affect tumor progression or tumor burden. However, with therapeutic treatment following tumor development, crizotinib significantly reduced tumor multiplicity and vascularity in LFD- and HFD-fed C3(1)-TAg mice. These findings emphasize the importance of clarifying ā€œwindows of susceptibilityā€ during which HGF/cMET signaling may play disproportionately greater roles in BBC onset and progression. We next hypothesized that adult weight gain and an inflammatory overweight mammary microenvironment would augment CLBC progression, while weight loss before tumor development would normalize overweight-associated tumor promotion. Therefore, a C3(1)-TAg-derived CLBC cell line was orthotopically transplanted into lean, overweight, and formerly overweight female FVB/NJ mice. Indeed, overweight accelerated tumor progression and induced pro-inflammatory changes in the mammary gland, including increased growth factor expression and crown-like structure formation. Weight loss abrogated overweight-induced tumor growth and reduced expression of mitogenic and metastasis-associated signaling pathways in tumors, significantly attenuating inflammation-induced CLBC progression. Interestingly, overweight also resulted in enhanced expression of a mast cell transcriptional signature in whole mammary tissue. Increased mast cell scores were also observed in cancer-adjacent breast tissue of overweight and obese relative to normal weight breast cancer patients. Conversely, lower intratumoral mast cell score was significantly associated with both triple-negative subtype and elevated risk-of-recurrence score in human breast cancers. Taken together, our results support that excess adiposity facilitates TNBC aggression. Further elucidation of adiposity-driven mechanisms of tumor progression and the efficacy of preventive measures such as weight loss could have tremendous potential for public health.Doctor of Philosoph

    You complete me: tumor cell-myeloid cell nuclear fusion as a facilitator of organ-specific metastasis

    Get PDF
    Every cancer genome is unique, resulting in potentially near infinite cancer cell phenotypes and an inability to predict clinical outcomes in most cases. Despite this profound genomic heterogeneity, many cancer types and subtypes display a non-random distribution of metastasis to distant organs, a phenomenon known as organotropism. Proposed factors in metastatic organotropism include hematogenous versus lymphatic dissemination, the circulation pattern of the tissue of origin, tumor-intrinsic factors, compatibility with established organ-specific niches, long-range induction of premetastatic niche formation, and so-called ā€œprometastatic nichesā€ that facilitate successful colonization of the secondary site following extravasation. To successfully complete the steps required for distant metastasis, cancer cells must evade immunosurveillance and survive in multiple new and hostile environments. Despite substantial advances in our understanding of the biology underlying malignancy, many of the mechanisms used by cancer cells to survive the metastatic journey remain a mystery. This review synthesizes the rapidly growing body of literature demonstrating the relevance of an unusual cell type known as ā€œfusion hybridā€ cells to many of the hallmarks of cancer, including tumor heterogeneity, metastatic conversion, survival in circulation, and metastatic organotropism. Whereas the concept of fusion between tumor cells and blood cells was initially proposed over a century ago, only recently have technological advancements allowed for detection of cells containing components of both immune and neoplastic cells within primary and metastatic lesions as well as among circulating malignant cells. Specifically, heterotypic fusion of cancer cells with monocytes and macrophages results in a highly heterogeneous population of hybrid daughter cells with enhanced malignant potential. Proposed mechanisms behind these findings include rapid, massive genome rearrangement during nuclear fusion and/or acquisition of monocyte/macrophage features such as migratory and invasive capability, immune privilege, immune cell trafficking and homing, and others. Rapid acquisition of these cellular traits may increase the likelihood of both escape from the primary tumor site and extravasation of hybrid cells at a secondary location that is amenable to colonization by that particular hybrid phenotype, providing a partial explanation for the patterns observed in some cancers with regard to sites of distant metastases

    Exogenous Metabolic Modulators Improve Response to Carboplatin in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

    Get PDF
    Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) lacks targeted therapies, leaving cytotoxic chemotherapy as the current standard treatment. However, chemotherapy resistance remains a major clinical challenge. Increased insulin-like growth factor 1 signaling can potently blunt chemotherapy response, and lysosomal processes including the nutrient scavenging pathway autophagy can enable cancer cells to evade chemotherapy-mediated cell death. Thus, we tested whether inhibition of insulin receptor/insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor with the drug BMS-754807 and/or lysosomal disruption with hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) could sensitize TNBC cells to the chemotherapy drug carboplatin. Using in vitro studies in multiple TNBC cell lines, in concert with in vivo studies employing a murine syngeneic orthotopic transplant model of TNBC, we show that BMS-754807 and HCQ each sensitized TNBC cells and tumors to carboplatin and reveal that exogenous metabolic modulators may work synergistically with carboplatin as indicated by Bliss analysis. Additionally, we demonstrate the lack of overt in vivo toxicity with our combination regimens and, therefore, propose that metabolic targeting of TNBC may be a safe and effective strategy to increase sensitivity to chemotherapy. Thus, we conclude that the use of exogenous metabolic modulators, such as BMS-754807 or HCQ, in combination with chemotherapy warrants additional study as a strategy to improve therapeutic responses in women with TNBC

    cMET inhibitor crizotinib impairs angiogenesis and reduces tumor burden in the C3(1)-Tag model of basal-like breast cancer

    Get PDF
    Epidemiologic studies have associated obesity with increased risk of the aggressive basal-like breast cancer (BBC) subtype. Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) signaling through its receptor, cMET, is elevated in obesity and is a pro-tumorigenic pathway strongly associated with BBC. We previously reported that high fat diet (HFD) elevated HGF, cMET, and phospho-cMET in normal mammary gland, with accelerated tumor development, compared to low fat diet (LFD)-fed lean controls in a murine model of BBC. We also showed that weight loss resulted in a significant reversal of HFD-induced effects on latency and elevation of HGF/cMET signaling in normal mammary and cMET in normal mammary and tumors. Here, we sought to inhibit BBC tumor progression in LFD- and HFD-fed C3(1)-Tag BBC mice using a small molecule cMET inhibitor, and began crizotinib treatment (50mg/kg body weight by oral gavage) upon identification of the first palpable tumor. We next investigated if administering crizotinib in a window prior to tumor development would inhibit or delay BBC tumorigenesis. Treatment: Crizotinib significantly reduced mean tumor burden by 27.96 and 37.29%, and mean tumor vascularity by 35.04 and 33.52%, in our LFD- and HFD-fed C3(1)-Tag BBC mice, respectively. Prevention: Crizotinib significantly accelerated primary tumor progression in both diet groups but had no effect on total tumor progression or total tumor burden. In sum, cMET inhibition by crizotinib limited tumor development and microvascular density in basal-like tumor-bearing mice but did not appear to be an effective preventive agent for BBC.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40064-016-1920-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

    Metabolic reprogramming through fatty acid transport protein 1 (FATP1) regulates macrophage inflammatory potential and adipose inflammation

    Get PDF
    OBJECTIVE: A novel approach to regulate obesity-associated adipose inflammation may be through metabolic reprogramming of macrophages (MĪ¦s). Broadly speaking, MĪ¦s dependent on glucose are pro-inflammatory, classically activated MĪ¦s (CAM), which contribute to adipose inflammation and insulin resistance. In contrast, MĪ¦s that primarily metabolize fatty acids are alternatively activated MĪ¦s (AAM) and maintain tissue insulin sensitivity. In actuality, there is much flexibility and overlap in the CAM-AAM spectrum in vivo dependent upon various stimuli in the microenvironment. We hypothesized that specific lipid trafficking proteins, e.g. fatty acid transport protein 1 (FATP1), would direct MĪ¦ fatty acid transport and metabolism to limit inflammation and contribute to the maintenance of adipose tissue homeostasis. METHODS: Bone marrow derived MĪ¦s (BMDMs) from Fatp1 (-/-) and Fatp1 (+/+) mice were used to investigate FATP1-dependent substrate metabolism, bioenergetics, metabolomics, and inflammatory responses. We also generated C57BL/6J chimeric mice by bone marrow transplant specifically lacking hematopoetic FATP1 (Fatp1 (B-/-)) and controls Fatp1 (B+/+). Mice were challenged by high fat diet (HFD) or low fat diet (LFD) and analyses including MRI, glucose and insulin tolerance tests, flow cytometric, histologic, and protein quantification assays were conducted. Finally, an FATP1-overexpressing RAW 264.7 MĪ¦ cell line (FATP1-OE) and empty vector control (FATP1-EV) were developed as a gain of function model to test effects on substrate metabolism, bioenergetics, metabolomics, and inflammatory responses. RESULTS: Fatp1 is downregulated with pro-inflammatory stimulation of MĪ¦s. Fatp1 (-/-) BMDMs and FATP1-OE RAW 264.7 MĪ¦s demonstrated that FATP1 reciprocally controled metabolic flexibility, i.e. lipid and glucose metabolism, which was associated with inflammatory response. Supporting our previous work demonstrating the positive relationship between glucose metabolism and inflammation, loss of FATP1 enhanced glucose metabolism and exaggerated the pro-inflammatory CAM phenotype. Fatp1 (B-/-) chimeras fed a HFD gained more epididymal white adipose mass, which was inflamed and oxidatively stressed, compared to HFD-fed Fatp1 (B+/+) controls. Adipose tissue macrophages displayed a CAM-like phenotype in the absence of Fatp1. Conversely, functional overexpression of FATP1 decreased many aspects of glucose metabolism and diminished CAM-stimulated inflammation in vitro. FATP1 displayed acyl-CoA synthetase activity for long chain fatty acids in MĪ¦s and modulated lipid mediator metabolism in MĪ¦s. CONCLUSION: Our findings provide evidence that FATP1 is a novel regulator of MĪ¦ activation through control of substrate metabolism. Absence of FATP1 exacerbated pro-inflammatory activation in vitro and increased local and systemic components of the metabolic syndrome in HFD-fed Fatp1 (B-/-) mice. In contrast, gain of FATP1 activity in MĪ¦s suggested that Fatp1-mediated activation of fatty acids, substrate switch to glucose, oxidative stress, and lipid mediator synthesis are potential mechanisms. We demonstrate for the first time that FATP1 provides a unique mechanism by which the inflammatory tone of adipose and systemic metabolism may be regulated

    Cell Intrinsic and Systemic Metabolism in Tumor Immunity and Immunotherapy

    No full text
    Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy has shown extraordinary promise at treating cancers otherwise resistant to treatment. However, for ICI therapy to be effective, it must overcome the metabolic limitations of the tumor microenvironment. Tumor metabolism has long been understood to be highly dysregulated, with potent immunosuppressive effects. Moreover, T cell activation and longevity within the tumor microenvironment are intimately tied to T cell metabolism and are required for the long-term efficacy of ICI therapy. We discuss in this review the intersection of metabolic competition in the tumor microenvironment, T cell activation and metabolism, the roles of tumor cell metabolism in immune evasion, and the impact of host metabolism in determining immune surveillance and ICI therapy outcomes. We also discussed the effects of obesity and calorie restriction—two important systemic metabolic perturbations that impact intrinsic metabolic pathways in T cells as well as cancer cells
    corecore