Stress signaling in breast cancer cells induces matrix components that promote chemoresistant metastasis

Abstract Metastatic progression remains a major burden for cancer patients and is associated with eventual resistance to prevailing therapies such as chemotherapy. Here, we reveal how chemotherapy induces an extracellular matrix (ECM), wound healing, and stem cell network in cancer cells via the c‐J...

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Main Authors: Jacob Insua‐Rodríguez, Maren Pein, Tsunaki Hongu, Jasmin Meier, Arnaud Descot, Camille M Lowy, Etienne De Braekeleer, Hans‐Peter Sinn, Saskia Spaich, Marc Sütterlin, Andreas Schneeweiss, Thordur Oskarsson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Springer Nature 2018-09-01
Series:EMBO Molecular Medicine
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.15252/emmm.201809003
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Summary:Abstract Metastatic progression remains a major burden for cancer patients and is associated with eventual resistance to prevailing therapies such as chemotherapy. Here, we reveal how chemotherapy induces an extracellular matrix (ECM), wound healing, and stem cell network in cancer cells via the c‐Jun N‐terminal kinase (JNK) pathway, leading to reduced therapeutic efficacy. We find that elevated JNK activity in cancer cells is linked to poor clinical outcome in breast cancer patients and is critical for tumor initiation and metastasis in xenograft mouse models of breast cancer. We show that JNK signaling enhances expression of the ECM and stem cell niche components osteopontin, also called secreted phosphoprotein 1 (SPP1), and tenascin C (TNC), that promote lung metastasis. We demonstrate that both SPP1 and TNC are direct targets of the c‐Jun transcription factor. Exposure to multiple chemotherapies further exploits this JNK‐mediated axis to confer treatment resistance. Importantly, JNK inhibition or disruption of SPP1 or TNC expression sensitizes experimental mammary tumors and metastases to chemotherapy, thus providing insights to consider for future treatment strategies against metastatic breast cancer.
ISSN:1757-4676
1757-4684