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Thus, CNN1/CYR61-targeting strategies might have therapeutic value in suppressing the biological aggressiveness of triple-negative/basal-like BC.
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In an orthotopic model of triple-negative/basal-like BC, silencing of CCN1 notably reduced tumor burden, which was accompanied by decreased microvessel density and concurrent induction of the luminal epithelial marker E-cadherin.
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Stable silencing of CCN1 in triple-negative/basal-like BC cells promoted a marked reduction in the expression of the CCN1 integrin receptor αvβ3, inhibited anchorage-dependent cell growth, reduced clonogenicity, and impaired migration capacity. Immunohistochemical analyses of tissue microarrays revealed a significant increase of the highest CCN1 score in recurrent tissues of triple-negative/basal-like BC tumors. We then investigated the biological effect of CCN1 depletion on tumorigenic traits in vitro and in vivo using archetypal TNBC cell lines.
KELLY SHIMO NUDE SERIES
Herein, we first characterized the prevalence of CNN1 expression in matched samples of primary tumors and metastatic relapse in a series of patients with BC. The matricellular protein cysteine-rich angiogenic inducer 61 (CCN1/CYR61) is associated with aggressive metastatic phenotypes and poor prognosis in BC, but it is unclear whether anti-CCN1 approaches can be successfully applied in triple-negative/basal-like BC. The molecular complexity of triple-negative/basal-like BC poses major challenges for the implementation of targeted therapies, and chemotherapy remains the standard approach at all stages. Triple-negative/basal-like breast cancer (BC) is characterized by aggressive biological features, which allow relapse and metastatic spread to occur more frequently than in hormone receptor-positive (luminal) subtypes. In summary, these results suggest that Cyr61 may play a role in the progression of breast cancer and may be involved in estrogen-mediated tumor development. Moreover, overexpression of Cyr61 in MCF-12A normal breast cells induced their tumor formation and vascularization in nude mice. Stable expression of Cyr61 cDNA under the regulation of a constitutive promoter in MCF-7 cells enhanced anchorage-independent cell growth in soft agar and significantly increased tumorigenicity and vascularization of these tumors in nude mice. Induction of Cyr61 mRNA was blocked by tamoxifen and ICI182,780, inhibitors of the estrogen receptor. Interestingly, expression of Cyr61 mRNA increased 8- to 12-fold in MCF-12A and 3- to 5-fold in MCF-7 cells after 24- and 48-h exposure to estrogen, respectively. Univariate analysis showed a significant or borderline significant association between Cyr61 expression and stage, tumor size, lymph node positivity, age, and estrogen receptor levels. Northern analysis revealed that Cyr61 was expressed highly in the invasive breast cancer cell lines MDA-MB-231, T47D, and MDA-MB-157 very low levels were found in the less tumorigenic MCF-7 and BT-20 breast cancer cells and barely detectable amounts were expressed in the normal breast cells, MCF-12A. Differential screening of the library isolated the growth factor-inducible immediate-early gene Cyr61, a secreted, cysteine-rich, heparin binding protein that promotes endothelial cell adhesion, migration, and neovascularization. To identify genes involved in breast cancer, polymerase chain reaction-selected cDNA subtraction was utilized to construct a breast cancer-subtracted library.
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