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Maris P, Blomme A, Palacios AP, Costanza B, Bellahcène A, Bianchi E, Gofflot S, Drion P, Trombino GE, Di Valentin E, Cusumano PG, Maweja S, Jerusalem G, Delvenne P, Lifrange E, Castronovo V, Turtoi A. Asporin Is a Fibroblast-Derived TGF-β1 Inhibitor and a Tumor Suppressor Associated with Good Prognosis in Breast Cancer. PLoS Med 2015; 12:e1001871. [PMID: 26327350 PMCID: PMC4556693 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2014] [Accepted: 07/21/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Breast cancer is a leading malignancy affecting the female population worldwide. Most morbidity is caused by metastases that remain incurable to date. TGF-β1 has been identified as a key driving force behind metastatic breast cancer, with promising therapeutic implications. METHODS AND FINDINGS Employing immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis, we report, to our knowledge for the first time, that asporin is overexpressed in the stroma of most human breast cancers and is not expressed in normal breast tissue. In vitro, asporin is secreted by breast fibroblasts upon exposure to conditioned medium from some but not all human breast cancer cells. While hormone receptor (HR) positive cells cause strong asporin expression, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells suppress it. Further, our findings show that soluble IL-1β, secreted by TNBC cells, is responsible for inhibiting asporin in normal and cancer-associated fibroblasts. Using recombinant protein, as well as a synthetic peptide fragment, we demonstrate the ability of asporin to inhibit TGF-β1-mediated SMAD2 phosphorylation, epithelial to mesenchymal transition, and stemness in breast cancer cells. In two in vivo murine models of TNBC, we observed that tumors expressing asporin exhibit significantly reduced growth (2-fold; p = 0.01) and metastatic properties (3-fold; p = 0.045). A retrospective IHC study performed on human breast carcinoma (n = 180) demonstrates that asporin expression is lowest in TNBC and HER2+ tumors, while HR+ tumors have significantly higher asporin expression (4-fold; p = 0.001). Assessment of asporin expression and patient outcome (n = 60; 10-y follow-up) shows that low protein levels in the primary breast lesion significantly delineate patients with bad outcome regardless of the tumor HR status (area under the curve = 0.87; 95% CI 0.78-0.96; p = 0.0001). Survival analysis, based on gene expression (n = 375; 25-y follow-up), confirmed that low asporin levels are associated with a reduced likelihood of survival (hazard ratio = 0.58; 95% CI 0.37-0.91; p = 0.017). Although these data highlight the potential of asporin to serve as a prognostic marker, confirmation of the clinical value would require a prospective study on a much larger patient cohort. CONCLUSIONS Our data show that asporin is a stroma-derived inhibitor of TGF-β1 and a tumor suppressor in breast cancer. High asporin expression is significantly associated with less aggressive tumors, stratifying patients according to the clinical outcome. Future pre-clinical studies should consider options for increasing asporin expression in TNBC as a promising strategy for targeted therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pamela Maris
- Metastasis Research Laboratory, GIGA–Cancer, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
| | - Arnaud Blomme
- Metastasis Research Laboratory, GIGA–Cancer, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
| | - Ana Perez Palacios
- Metastasis Research Laboratory, GIGA–Cancer, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
| | - Brunella Costanza
- Metastasis Research Laboratory, GIGA–Cancer, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
| | - Akeila Bellahcène
- Metastasis Research Laboratory, GIGA–Cancer, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
| | - Elettra Bianchi
- Department of Pathology, University Hospital Liège, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
| | | | - Pierre Drion
- Animal Facility, GIGA–Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
| | - Giovanna Elvi Trombino
- Metastasis Research Laboratory, GIGA–Cancer, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
- Department of Pharmacy and Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, Arcavacata di Rende, Cosenza, Italy
| | | | - Pino G. Cusumano
- Department of Senology, University Hospital Liège, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
| | - Sylvie Maweja
- Department of Abdominal Surgery, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
| | - Guy Jerusalem
- Department of Medical Oncology, University Hospital Liège, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
| | - Philippe Delvenne
- Department of Pathology, University Hospital Liège, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
| | - Eric Lifrange
- Department of Senology, University Hospital Liège, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
| | - Vincent Castronovo
- Metastasis Research Laboratory, GIGA–Cancer, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
- * E-mail: (VC); (AT)
| | - Andrei Turtoi
- Metastasis Research Laboratory, GIGA–Cancer, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
- * E-mail: (VC); (AT)
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Parisi OI, Morelli C, Puoci F, Saturnino C, Caruso A, Sisci D, Trombino GE, Picci N, Sinicropi MS. Magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers (MMIPs) for carbazole derivative release in targeted cancer therapy. J Mater Chem B 2014; 2:6619-6625. [DOI: 10.1039/c4tb00607k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Magnetic Molecularly Imprinted Polymers (MMIPs) are synthesized with the aim to prepare novel devices for 9H-carbazole derivative sustained delivery in targeted cancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ortensia Ilaria Parisi
- Department of Pharmacy
- Health and Nutritional Sciences
- University of Calabria
- 87036 Rende, Italy
- Department of Informatics
| | - Catia Morelli
- Department of Pharmacy
- Health and Nutritional Sciences
- University of Calabria
- 87036 Rende, Italy
| | - Francesco Puoci
- Department of Pharmacy
- Health and Nutritional Sciences
- University of Calabria
- 87036 Rende, Italy
| | - Carmela Saturnino
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences
- University of Salerno
- 84084 Fisciano, Italy
| | - Anna Caruso
- Department of Pharmacy
- Health and Nutritional Sciences
- University of Calabria
- 87036 Rende, Italy
- Department of Informatics
| | - Diego Sisci
- Department of Pharmacy
- Health and Nutritional Sciences
- University of Calabria
- 87036 Rende, Italy
| | - Giovanna Elvi Trombino
- Department of Pharmacy
- Health and Nutritional Sciences
- University of Calabria
- 87036 Rende, Italy
| | - Nevio Picci
- Department of Pharmacy
- Health and Nutritional Sciences
- University of Calabria
- 87036 Rende, Italy
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Sisci D, Maris P, Cesario MG, Anselmo W, Coroniti R, Trombino GE, Romeo F, Ferraro A, Lanzino M, Aquila S, Maggiolini M, Mauro L, Morelli C, Andò S. The estrogen receptor α is the key regulator of the bifunctional role of FoxO3a transcription factor in breast cancer motility and invasiveness. Cell Cycle 2013; 12:3405-20. [PMID: 24047697 DOI: 10.4161/cc.26421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The role of the Forkhead box class O (FoxO)3a transcription factor in breast cancer migration and invasion is controversial. Here we show that FoxO3a overexpression decreases motility, invasiveness, and anchorage-independent growth in estrogen receptor α-positive (ERα+) cancer cells while eliciting opposite effects in ERα-silenced cells and in ERα-negative (ERα-) cell lines, demonstrating that the nuclear receptor represents a crucial switch in FoxO3a control of breast cancer cell aggressiveness. In ERα+ cells, FoxO3a-mediated events were paralleled by a significant induction of Caveolin-1 (Cav1), an essential constituent of caveolae negatively associated to tumor invasion and metastasis. Cav1 induction occurs at the transcriptional level through FoxO3a binding to a Forkhead responsive core sequence located at position -305/-299 of the Cav1 promoter. 17β-estradiol (E2) strongly emphasized FoxO3a effects on cell migration and invasion, while ERα and Cav1 silencing were able to reverse them, demonstrating that both proteins are pivotal mediators of these FoxO3a controlled processes. In vivo, an immunohistochemical analysis on tissue sections from patients with ERα+ or ERα- invasive breast cancers or in situ ductal carcinoma showed that nuclear FoxO3a inversely (ERα+) or directly (ERα-) correlated with the invasive phenotype of breast tumors. In conclusion, FoxO3a role in breast cancer motility and invasion depends on ERα status, disclosing a novel aspect of the well-established FoxO3a/ERα interplay. Therefore FoxO3a might become a pursuable target to be suitably exploited in combination therapies either in ERα+ or ERα- breast tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Sisci
- Department of Pharmacy and Health and Nutritional Sciences; University of Calabria; Arcavacata di Rende; Cosenza, Italy
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Lanzino M, Maris P, Sirianni R, Barone I, Chimento A, Giordano C, Morelli C, Trombino GE, Bonofiglio D, Catalano S, Andò S. A novel interplay between AR and DAX‐1 controls aromatase expression in estrogen‐dependent cancers. FASEB J 2013. [DOI: 10.1096/fasebj.27.1_supplement.471.6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Marilena Lanzino
- Pharmacy and Health and Nutritional SciencesUniversity of CalabriaArcavacata di RendeItaly
- Centro SanitarioUniversity of CalabriaArcavacata di RendeItaly
| | - Pamela Maris
- Pharmacy and Health and Nutritional SciencesUniversity of CalabriaArcavacata di RendeItaly
| | - Rosa Sirianni
- Pharmacy and Health and Nutritional SciencesUniversity of CalabriaArcavacata di RendeItaly
| | - Ines Barone
- Pharmacy and Health and Nutritional SciencesUniversity of CalabriaArcavacata di RendeItaly
| | - Adele Chimento
- Pharmacy and Health and Nutritional SciencesUniversity of CalabriaArcavacata di RendeItaly
| | - Cinzia Giordano
- Centro SanitarioUniversity of CalabriaArcavacata di RendeItaly
| | - Catia Morelli
- Pharmacy and Health and Nutritional SciencesUniversity of CalabriaArcavacata di RendeItaly
| | - Giovanna Elvi Trombino
- Pharmacy and Health and Nutritional SciencesUniversity of CalabriaArcavacata di RendeItaly
| | - Daniela Bonofiglio
- Pharmacy and Health and Nutritional SciencesUniversity of CalabriaArcavacata di RendeItaly
- Centro SanitarioUniversity of CalabriaArcavacata di RendeItaly
| | - Stefania Catalano
- Pharmacy and Health and Nutritional SciencesUniversity of CalabriaArcavacata di RendeItaly
- Centro SanitarioUniversity of CalabriaArcavacata di RendeItaly
| | - Sebastiano Andò
- Pharmacy and Health and Nutritional SciencesUniversity of CalabriaArcavacata di RendeItaly
- Centro SanitarioUniversity of CalabriaArcavacata di RendeItaly
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