Kang DS, Moriarty A, Wang YJ, Thomas A, Hao J, Unger BA, Klotz R, Ahmmed S, Amzaleg Y, Martin S, Vanapalli S, Xu K, Smith A, Shen K, Yu M. Ectopic Expression of a Truncated Isoform of Hair Keratin 81 in Breast Cancer Alters Biophysical Characteristics to Promote Metastatic Propensity.
Adv Sci (Weinh) 2024;
11:e2300509. [PMID:
37949677 PMCID:
PMC10837353 DOI:
10.1002/advs.202300509]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2023] [Revised: 08/28/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023]
Abstract
Keratins are an integral part of cell structure and function. Here, it is shown that ectopic expression of a truncated isoform of keratin 81 (tKRT81) in breast cancer is upregulated in metastatic lesions compared to primary tumors and patient-derived circulating tumor cells, and is associated with more aggressive subtypes. tKRT81 physically interacts with keratin 18 (KRT18) and leads to changes in the cytosolic keratin intermediate filament network and desmosomal plaque formation. These structural changes are associated with a softer, more elastically deformable cancer cell with enhanced adhesion and clustering ability leading to greater in vivo lung metastatic burden. This work describes a novel biomechanical mechanism by which tKRT81 promotes metastasis, highlighting the importance of the biophysical characteristics of tumor cells.
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