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ABSTRACT: Metastasis requires numerous biological functions that jointly provide tumor cells from a primary site to seed and colonize a distant organ. Some of these activities are selected for in the primary site, whereas others are acquired at the metastatic niche. We provide molecular evidence showing that the BMP inhibitor, NOG, provides metastatic breast cancer cells with the ability to colonize the bone. NOG expression is acquired during the late events of metastasis, once cells have departed from the primary site, because it is not enriched in primary tumors with high risk of bone relapse. On the contrary, breast cancer bone metastatic lesions do select for high levels of NOG expression when compared with metastasis to the lung, liver, and brain. Pivotal to the bone colonization functions is the contribution of NOG to metastatic autonomous and nonautonomous cell functions. Using genetic approaches, we show that when NOG is expressed in human breast cancer cells, it facilitates bone colonization by fostering osteoclast differentiation and bone degradation and also contributes to metastatic lesions reinitiation. These findings reveal how aggressive cancer cell autonomous and nonautonomous functions can be mechanistically coupled to greater bone metastatic potential.
Journal of Biological Chemistry 04/2012; 287(25):21346-55. · 4.77 Impact Factor
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Marta Palafox,
Irene Ferrer,
Pasquale Pellegrini,
Sergi Vila,
Sara Hernandez-Ortega,
Ander Urruticoechea,
Fina Climent,
Maria Teresa Soler,
Purificación Muñoz,
Francesc Viñals,
Mark Tometsko,
Dan Branstetter,
William C Dougall, Eva González-Suárez
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ABSTRACT: Paracrine signaling through receptor activator of NF-κB (RANK) pathway mediates the expansion of mammary epithelia that occurs during pregnancy, and activation of RANK pathway promotes mammary tumorigenesis in mice. In this study we extend these previous data to human cells and show that the RANK pathway promotes the development of mammary stem cells and breast cancer. Overexpression of RANK (FL-RANK) in a panel of tumoral and normal human mammary cells induces the expression of breast cancer stem and basal/stem cell markers. High levels of RANK in untransformed MCF10A cells induce changes associated with both stemness and transformation, including mammary gland reconstitution, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), increased migration, and anchorage-independent growth. In addition, spheroids of RANK overexpressing MCF10A cells display disrupted acinar formation, impair growth arrest and polarization, and luminal filling. RANK overexpression in tumor cells with nonfunctional BRCA1 enhances invasiveness in acinar cultures and increases tumorigenesis and metastasis in immunodeficient mice. High levels of RANK were found in human primary breast adenocarcinomas that lack expression of the hormone receptors, estrogen and progesterone, and in tumors with high pathologic grade and proliferation index; high RANK/RANKL expression was significantly associated with metastatic tumors. Together, our findings show that RANK promotes tumor initiation, progression, and metastasis in human mammary epithelial cells by increasing the population of CD44(+)CD24(-) cells, inducing stemness and EMT. These results suggest that RANK expression in primary breast cancer associates with poor prognosis.
Cancer Research 04/2012; 72(11):2879-88. · 7.86 Impact Factor
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Núria Bonifaci,
Marta Palafox,
Pasquale Pellegrini,
Ana Osorio,
Javier Benítez,
Paolo Peterlongo,
Siranoush Manoukian,
Bernard Peissel,
Daniela Zaffaroni,
Gaia Roversi, [......],
Miguel de la Hoya,
Pedro Pérez-Segura,
Trinidad Caldés,
Víctor Moreno,
Ander Urruticoechea,
Joan Brunet,
Conxi Lázaro,
Ignacio Blanco,
Miguel Angel Pujana, Eva González-Suárez
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ABSTRACT: Intracellular signaling mediated by the receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB [Rank, encoded by the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily, member 11a (Tnfrsf11a) gene] is fundamental for mammary gland development in mice, regulating the expansion of stem and progenitor cell compartments. Conversely, Rank overexpression in mice promotes abnormal proliferation and impairs differentiation, leading to an increased incidence of tumorigenesis. Here, we show that a common genetic variant near the 5'-end of TNFRSF11A, rs7226991, is associated with breast cancer risk in the general population and among carriers of mutations in the breast cancer 2, early onset (BRCA2) gene. Akin to the results of the Cancer and Genetics Markers of Susceptibility initiative, combined analysis of rs7226991 in two Spanish case-control studies (1,365 controls and 1,323 cases in total) revealed a significant association with risk: odds ratio (OR) = 0.88, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.78-0.98, P (trend) = 0.025. Subsequent examination of BRCA1 (n = 1,017) and BRCA2 (n = 885) mutation carriers revealed a consistent association in the latter group: weighted hazard ratio ((w)HR) = 0.70; 95% CI 0.55-0.88; and P (trend) = 0.003; compared to BRCA1 mutation carriers, (w)HR = 0.91; 95% CI 0.76-1.10; and P (trend) = 0.33. The results of this study need to be replicated in other populations and with larger numbers of BRCA1/2 mutation carriers.
Breast Cancer Research and Treatment 05/2011; 129(3):947-54. · 4.43 Impact Factor
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Eva González-Suárez
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ABSTRACT: The cytokine RANKL and its receptor RANK, key proteins in bone remodelling and bone metastasis, are essential for mammary gland development in mice. RANK absence or overexpression results in a lactation defect and a non-functional mammary gland. RANKL signalling mediates progesterone-induced proliferation and expansion of the stem cell compartment in the mouse mammary gland. RANK overexpressing mammary epithelial acini show hallmarks of transformation in a RANKL-dependent manner. Complementary gain- and loss-of-function approaches (RANK transgenic and knock-out mouse models and pharmacological RANKL inhibition) define a direct contribution of this pathway to progestin-driven mammary cancer. Moreover, decreased RANKL signalling attenuates preneoplasic lesions and lung metastasis in the spontaneous model of mammary tumorigenesis MMTV-neu, suggesting that RANK pathway promotes mammary tumorigenesis and metastasis in a wider tumour spectrum and beyond its established role in bone metastasis. In this review, we summarise the role of the RANKL pathway in mammary gland development, breast cancer and metastasis, and discuss the potential application of RANKL inhibition for breast cancer treatment.
Clinical and Translational Oncology 04/2011; 13(4):222-8. · 1.33 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Many degenerative diseases that occur with aging, as well as premature aging syndromes, are characterized by presenting cells with critically short telomeres. Telomerase reintroduction is envisioned as a putative therapy for diseases characterized by telomere exhaustion. K5-mTert transgenic mice overexpress telomerase in a wide spectrum of tissues. These mice have a higher incidence of both induced and spontaneous tumors, resulting in increased mortality during the first year of life. Here, we show that in spite of this elevated tumor incidence and the initial lower survival, K5-mTert mice show an extension of the maximum lifespan from 1.5 to 3 months, depending on the transgenic line, which represents up to a 10% increase in the mean lifespan compared to wild-type littermates. This longer lifespan is coincidental with a lower incidence of certain age-related degenerative diseases, mainly those related to kidney function and germline integrity. Importantly, these effects of telomerase overexpression cannot be attributed to dramatic differences in telomere length in aged K5-Tert mice compared to wild-type mice, as shown by quantitative telomeric FISH. These findings indicate that telomerase overexpression extends the maximum lifespan of mice.
Oncogene 04/2005; 24(13):2256-70. · 6.37 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Here, we use telomerase-deficient mice, Terc(-/-), to study the impact of telomerase abrogation in response to treatment with the alkylating agent N-Methyl-N-Nitrosourea (MNU), a potent carcinogen in the mouse. Wild-type mice treated with MNU developed lymphomas and carcinomas. In contrast, similarly treated G5 Terc(-/-) mice with critically short telomeres did not develop tumors and died of acute toxicity to the small intestine. G2 Terc(-/-) mice, which have long telomeres, were less susceptible to MNU-induced tumors than wild-type mice, as well as less sensitive to MNU toxicity than G5 Terc(-/-) mice. The results indicate that short telomeres suppress tumor growth and that lack of telomerase retards tumor progression, even in the presence of long telomeres. Finally, G5 Terc(-/-) hypersensitivity to MNU supports the notion that short telomeres interfere with proper DNA damage repair.
Cancer Research 12/2003; 63(21):7047-50. · 7.86 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Telomerase reintroduction in adult somatic tissues is envisioned as a way to extend their proliferative capacity. It is still a question, however, whether constitutive telomerase expression in adult tissues impacts the normal aging and spontaneous cancer incidence of an organism. Here, we studied the aging and spontaneous cancer incidence of mice with transgenic telomerase expression in a wide range of adult tissues, K5-Tert mice. For this, we maintained large colonies of K5-Tert mice for more than 2 years. K5-Tert mice showed a decreased life span compared to wild-type cohorts associated with a higher incidence of preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions in various tissue types. Neoplasias in K5-Tert mice were coincident with transgene expression in the affected tissues. These observations suggest that high telomerase activity may cooperate with genetic alterations that occur with age to promote tumorigenesis. Indeed, we demonstrate here that increased cancer incidence and the reduced viability of K5-Tert mice are aggravated in a p53(+/-) genetic background, indicating that telomerase cooperates with loss of p53 function in inducing tumorigenesis. Altogether, these results demonstrate that constitutive high levels of telomerase activity result in a decreased life span associated with an increased incidence of neoplasias as the organism ages.
Molecular and Cellular Biology 11/2002; 22(20):7291-301. · 5.53 Impact Factor
