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Ruth JR, Pant DK, Pan TC, Seidel HE, Baksh SC, Keister BA, Singh R, Sterner CJ, Bakewell SJ, Moody SE, Belka GK, Chodosh LA. Cellular dormancy in minimal residual disease following targeted therapy. Breast Cancer Res 2021; 23:63. [PMID: 34088357 PMCID: PMC8178846 DOI: 10.1186/s13058-021-01416-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2019] [Accepted: 03/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Breast cancer mortality is principally due to tumor recurrence, which can occur following extended periods of clinical remission that may last decades. While clinical latency has been postulated to reflect the ability of residual tumor cells to persist in a dormant state, this hypothesis remains unproven since little is known about the biology of these cells. Consequently, defining the properties of residual tumor cells is an essential goal with important clinical implications for preventing recurrence and improving cancer outcomes. METHODS To identify conserved features of residual tumor cells, we modeled minimal residual disease using inducible transgenic mouse models for HER2/neu and Wnt1-driven tumorigenesis that recapitulate cardinal features of human breast cancer progression, as well as human breast cancer cell xenografts subjected to targeted therapy. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting was used to isolate tumor cells from primary tumors, residual lesions following oncogene blockade, and recurrent tumors to analyze gene expression signatures and evaluate tumor-initiating cell properties. RESULTS We demonstrate that residual tumor cells surviving oncogenic pathway inhibition at both local and distant sites exist in a state of cellular dormancy, despite adequate vascularization and the absence of adaptive immunity, and retain the ability to re-enter the cell cycle and give rise to recurrent tumors after extended latency periods. Compared to primary or recurrent tumor cells, dormant residual tumor cells possess unique features that are conserved across mouse models for human breast cancer driven by different oncogenes, and express a gene signature that is strongly associated with recurrence-free survival in breast cancer patients and similar to that of tumor cells in which dormancy is induced by the microenvironment. Although residual tumor cells in both the HER2/neu and Wnt1 models are enriched for phenotypic features associated with tumor-initiating cells, limiting dilution experiments revealed that residual tumor cells are not enriched for cells capable of giving rise to primary tumors, but are enriched for cells capable of giving rise to recurrent tumors, suggesting that tumor-initiating populations underlying primary tumorigenesis may be distinct from those that give rise to recurrence following therapy. CONCLUSIONS Residual cancer cells surviving targeted therapy reside in a well-vascularized, desmoplastic microenvironment at both local and distant sites. These cells exist in a state of cellular dormancy that bears little resemblance to primary or recurrent tumor cells, but shares similarities with cells in which dormancy is induced by microenvironmental cues. Our observations suggest that dormancy may be a conserved response to targeted therapy independent of the oncogenic pathway inhibited or properties of the primary tumor, that the mechanisms underlying dormancy at local and distant sites may be related, and that the dormant state represents a potential therapeutic target for preventing cancer recurrence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason R Ruth
- Department of Cancer Biology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- 2-PREVENT Translational Center of Excellence at the Abramson Cancer Center, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Dhruv K Pant
- Department of Cancer Biology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- 2-PREVENT Translational Center of Excellence at the Abramson Cancer Center, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Tien-Chi Pan
- Department of Cancer Biology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- 2-PREVENT Translational Center of Excellence at the Abramson Cancer Center, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Hans E Seidel
- Department of Cancer Biology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- 2-PREVENT Translational Center of Excellence at the Abramson Cancer Center, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Sanjeethan C Baksh
- Department of Cancer Biology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- 2-PREVENT Translational Center of Excellence at the Abramson Cancer Center, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Blaine A Keister
- Department of Cancer Biology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Rita Singh
- Department of Cancer Biology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Christopher J Sterner
- Department of Cancer Biology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- 2-PREVENT Translational Center of Excellence at the Abramson Cancer Center, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Suzanne J Bakewell
- Department of Cancer Biology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- 2-PREVENT Translational Center of Excellence at the Abramson Cancer Center, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Susan E Moody
- Department of Cancer Biology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- 2-PREVENT Translational Center of Excellence at the Abramson Cancer Center, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - George K Belka
- Department of Cancer Biology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- 2-PREVENT Translational Center of Excellence at the Abramson Cancer Center, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Lewis A Chodosh
- Department of Cancer Biology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
- 2-PREVENT Translational Center of Excellence at the Abramson Cancer Center, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
- the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
- Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
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Abstract
The term EMT (epithelial-mesenchymal transition) is used in many settings. This term is used to describe the mechanisms facilitating cellular repositioning and redeployment during embryonic development and tissue reconstruction after injury. Recently, EMT has also been applied to potential mechanisms for malignant progression and has appeared as a specific diagnostic category of tumors. In mice, most 'EMT' tumors have a spindle cell phenotype. The definition of EMT is controversial because spindle cell tumors are not common in humans, especially in human breast cancers. Spindle cell tumors of the mouse mammary gland have been observed for many years where they are usually classified as sarcomas or carcinosarcomas. Genetically engineered mice develop mammary spindle cell tumors that appear to arise in the epithelium and undergo EMT. To better understand the origin and evolution of these spindle cell tumors in progression and metastases, seven cohorts of spindle cell tumors from the archives of the University of California, Davis Mutant Mouse Pathology Laboratory were studied. This study provides experimental and immunohistochemical evidence of EMT showing that dual epithelial and mesenchymal staining of tumor spindle cells identifies some, but not all, EMT-type tumors in the mouse. This suggests that potential EMT tumors are best designated EMT-phenotype tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrizia Damonte
- Center for Comparative Medicine, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Jeffrey P Gregg
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California at Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Alexander D Borowsky
- Center for Comparative Medicine, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, USA, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California at Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Blaine A Keister
- Department of Cancer Biology, Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Robert D Cardiff
- Center for Comparative Medicine, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, USA, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California at Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA
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Boxer RB, Stairs DB, Dugan KD, Notarfrancesco KL, Portocarrero CP, Keister BA, Belka GK, Cho H, Rathmell JC, Thompson CB, Birnbaum MJ, Chodosh LA. Isoform-specific requirement for Akt1 in the developmental regulation of cellular metabolism during lactation. Cell Metab 2006; 4:475-90. [PMID: 17141631 DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2006.10.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2006] [Revised: 08/11/2006] [Accepted: 10/27/2006] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
The metabolic demands and synthetic capacity of the lactating mammary gland exceed that of any other tissue, thereby providing a useful paradigm for understanding the developmental regulation of cellular metabolism. By evaluating mice bearing targeted deletions in Akt1 or Akt2, we demonstrate that Akt1 is specifically required for lactating mice to synthesize sufficient quantities of milk to support their offspring. Whereas cellular proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis are unaffected, loss of Akt1 disrupts the coordinate regulation of metabolic pathways that normally occurs at the onset of lactation. This results in a failure to upregulate glucose uptake, Glut1 surface localization, lipid synthesis, and multiple lipogenic enzymes, as well as a failure to downregulate lipid catabolic enzymes. These findings demonstrate that Akt1 is required in an isoform-specific manner for orchestrating many of the developmental changes in cellular metabolism that occur at the onset of lactation and establish a role for Akt1 in glucose metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert B Boxer
- Department of Cancer Biology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
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D'Cruz CM, Moody SE, Master SR, Hartman JL, Keiper EA, Imielinski MB, Cox JD, Wang JY, Ha SI, Keister BA, Chodosh LA. Persistent parity-induced changes in growth factors, TGF-beta3, and differentiation in the rodent mammary gland. Mol Endocrinol 2002; 16:2034-51. [PMID: 12198241 DOI: 10.1210/me.2002-0073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 125] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Epidemiological studies have repeatedly demonstrated that women who undergo an early first full-term pregnancy have a significantly reduced lifetime risk of breast cancer. Similarly, rodents that have previously undergone a full-term pregnancy are highly resistant to carcinogen-induced breast cancer compared with age-matched nulliparous controls. Little progress has been made, however, toward understanding the biological basis of this phenomenon. We have used DNA microarrays to identify a panel of 38 differentially expressed genes that reproducibly distinguishes, in a blinded manner, between the nulliparous and parous states of the mammary gland in multiple strains of mice and rats. We find that parity results in the persistent down-regulation of multiple genes encoding growth factors, such as amphiregulin, pleiotrophin, and IGF-1, as well as the persistent up-regulation of the growth-inhibitory molecule, TGF-beta3, and several of its transcriptional targets. Our studies further indicate that parity results in a persistent increase in the differentiated state of the mammary gland as well as lifelong changes in the hematopoietic cell types resident within the gland. These findings define a developmental state of the mammary gland that is refractory to carcinogenesis and suggest novel hypotheses for the mechanisms by which parity may modulate breast cancer risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Celina M D'Cruz
- Departments of Cancer Biology, of Cell and Developmental Biology, and of Medicine, and Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-6160, USA
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