MicroRNA-222 reprogrammed cancer-associated fibroblasts enhance growth and metastasis of breast cancer

BACKGROUND: Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are known to impact on tumour behaviour, but the mechanisms controlling this are poorly understood. METHODS: Breast normal fibroblasts (NFs) or CAFs were isolated from cancers by laser microdissection or were cultured. Fibroblasts were transfected to manipulate miR-222 or Lamin B receptor (LBR). The fibroblast-conditioned medium was collected and used to treat epithelial BC lines MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-157. Migration, invasion, proliferation or senescence was assessed using transwell, MTT or X-gal assays, respectively. RESULTS: MiR-222 was upregulated in CAFs as compared with NFs. Ectopic miR-222 expression in NFs induced CAF-like expression profiles, while miR-222 knockdown in CAFs inhibited CAF phenotypes. LBR was identified as a direct miR-222 target, and was functionally relevant since LBR knockdown phenocopied miR-222 overexpression and LBR overexpression phenocopied miR-222 knockdown. MiR-222 overexpression, or LBR knockdown, was sufficient to induce NFs to show the CAF characteristics of enhanced migration, invasion and senescence, and furthermore, the conditioned medium from these fibroblasts induced increased BC cell migration and invasion. The reverse manipulations in CAFs inhibited these behaviours in fibroblasts, and inhibited paracrine influences on BC cells. CONCLUSION: MiR-222/LBR have key roles in controlling pro-progression influences of CAFs in BC. This pathway may present therapeutic opportunities to inhibit CAF-induced cancer progression

Inhibition of interferon-signalling halts cancer-associated fibroblast-dependent protection of breast cancer cells from chemotherapy

Background Triple negative breast cancers (TNBC) have poor prognoses despite aggressive treatment with cytotoxic chemotherapy. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are prominent in tumour stroma. Our hypothesis was that CAFs modulate chemotherapy sensitivity. Methods TNBC cells and breast fibroblasts were cultured; survival after chemotherapeutics was assessed using luciferase or clonogenic assays. Signalling was investigated using transcriptomics, reporters, recombinant proteins and blocking antibodies. Clinical relevance was investigated using immunohistochemistry. Results Breast CAFs dose-dependently protected TNBC cell lines MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-157, but not MDA-MB-468s, from chemotherapy. CAF-induced protection was associated with interferon (IFN) activation. CAFs were induced to express IFNβ1 by chemotherapy and TNBC co-culture, leading to paracrine activation in cancer cells. Recombinant IFNs were sufficient to protect MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-157 but not MDA-MB-468 cells. In TNBC patients, IFNβ1 expression in CAFs correlated with cancer cell expression of MX1, a marker of activated IFN signalling. High expression of IFNβ1 (CAFs) or MX1 (tumour cells) correlated with reduced survival after chemotherapy, especially in claudin-low tumours (which MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-157 cells represent). Antibodies that block IFN receptors reduced CAF-dependent chemoprotection. Conclusions CAF-induced activation of IFN signalling in claudin-low TNBCs results in chemoresistance. Inhibition of this pathway represents a novel method to improve breast cancer outcomes

MiR-19b non-canonical binding is directed by HuR and confers chemosensitivity through regulation of P-glycoprotein in breast cancer

MicroRNAs and RNA-binding proteins exert regulation on >60% of coding genes, yet interplay between them is little studied. Canonical microRNA binding occurs by base-pairing of microRNA 3′-ends to complementary “seed regions” in mRNA 3′UTRs, resulting in translational repression. Similarly, regulatory RNA-binding proteins bind to mRNAs, modifying stability or translation. We investigated post-transcriptional regulation acting on the xenobiotic pump ABCB1/P-glycoprotein, which is implicated in cancer therapy resistance. We characterised the ABCB1 UTRs in primary breast cancer cells and identified UTR sequences that responded to miR-19b despite lacking a canonical binding site. Sequences did, however, contain consensus sites for the RNA-binding protein HuR. We demonstrated that a tripartite complex of HuR, miR-19b and UTR directs repression of ABCB1/P-glycoprotein expression, with HuR essential for non-canonical miR-19b binding thereby controlling chemosensitivity of breast cancer cells. This exemplifies a new cooperative model between RNA-binding proteins and microRNAs to expand the repertoire of mRNAs that can be regulated. This study suggests a novel therapeutic target to impair P-glycoprotein mediated drug efflux, and also indicates that current microRNA binding predictions that rely on seed regions alone may be too conservative

Liver x receptor alpha drives chemoresistance in response to side-chain hydroxycholesterols in triple negative breast cancer

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is challenging to treat successfully because targeted therapies do not exist. Instead, systemic therapy is typically restricted to cytotoxic chemotherapy, which fails more often in patients with elevated circulating cholesterol. Liver x receptors are ligand-dependent transcription factors that are homeostatic regulators of cholesterol, and are linked to regulation of broad-affinity xenobiotic transporter activity in non-tumor tissues. We show that LXR ligands confer chemotherapy resistance in TNBC cell lines and xenografts, and that LXRalpha is necessary and sufficient to mediate this resistance. Furthermore, in TNBC patients who had cancer recurrences, LXRalpha and ligands were independent markers of poor prognosis and correlated with P-glycoprotein expression. However, in patients who survived their disease, LXRalpha signaling and P-glycoprotein were decoupled. These data reveal a novel chemotherapy resistance mechanism in this poor prognosis subtype of breast cancer. We conclude that systemic chemotherapy failure in some TNBC patients is caused by co-opting the LXRalpha:P-glycoprotein axis, a pathway highly targetable by therapies that are already used for prevention and treatment of other diseases