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Nandi I, Smith HW, Sanguin-Gendreau V, Ji L, Pacis A, Papavasiliou V, Zuo D, Nam S, Attalla SS, Kim SH, Lusson S, Kuasne H, Fortier AM, Savage P, Martinez Ramirez C, Park M, Katzenellenbogen JA, Katzenellenbogen BS, Muller WJ. Coordinated activation of c-Src and FOXM1 drives tumor cell proliferation and breast cancer progression. J Clin Invest 2023; 133:162324. [PMID: 36795481 PMCID: PMC10065076 DOI: 10.1172/jci162324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2022] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Activation of the tyrosine kinase c-Src promotes breast cancer progression and poor outcomes, yet the underlying mechanisms are incompletely understood. Here, we show that deleting c-Src abrogates the activity of Forkhead Box M1 (FOXM1), a master transcriptional regulator of the cell cycle, in a genetically engineered model mimicking the Luminal B molecular subtype of breast cancer. By phosphorylating it on two tyrosine residues, c-Src stimulates the nuclear localization of FOXM1 and the expression of its target genes, including key regulators of G2-M cell cycle progression as well as c-Src itself. This positive feedback loop drives proliferation in genetically engineered and patient-derived models of Luminal B-like breast cancer. Targeting this mechanism, including through novel compounds that destabilize the FOXM1 protein, induces G2-M cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, blocking tumor progression and impairing metastasis. We identify a positive correlation between FOXM1 and c-Src expression in human breast cancer and show that the expression of FOXM1 target genes predicts poor outcomes and associates with the Luminal B subtype, which responds poorly to approved therapies. These findings indicate that a regulatory network centered on c-Src and FOXM1 is a targetable vulnerability in aggressive luminal breast cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ipshita Nandi
- Goodman Cancer Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Harvey W Smith
- Goodman Cancer Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | | | - Linjia Ji
- Goodman Cancer Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Alain Pacis
- Goodman Cancer Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | | | - Dongmei Zuo
- Goodman Cancer Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Stella Nam
- Goodman Cancer Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | | | - Sung Hoon Kim
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, United States of America
| | - Sierra Lusson
- Goodman Cancer Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Hellen Kuasne
- Goodman Cancer Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | | | - Paul Savage
- Goodman Cancer Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | | | - Morag Park
- Goodman Cancer Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - John A Katzenellenbogen
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, United States of America
| | - Benita S Katzenellenbogen
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, United States of America
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