The Biology of Lung Metastasis in Breast Cancer

转移是人类乳腺癌死亡的主要原因。原发性肿瘤发生的机制 微环境促进肿瘤细胞的侵袭和内渗已被广泛研究。在 相比之下，调节远端血源性肿瘤细胞外渗的机制，它们的 在新的微环境中生存和增殖，以及重新传播到其他地点， 研究较少，理解也不够深入。因此，对调节机制的研究 转移部位的乳腺癌细胞是一个具有浓厚科学兴趣的领域，具有重要的临床意义 应用程序。 CTC 可有效地散布至全身，但形成转移的频率较低。 CTC 是 成功地在远端部位外渗、存活和生长，并获得了类似茎的特征，可促进 这些过程。干细胞特性的获得与上皮-间质转化密切相关 （急救医疗队）。因此，干性和 EMT 的转录控制是转移效率的重要调节因子。 干性和/或 EMT 是由代谢、缺氧和氧化还原应激以及与 巨噬细胞和血小板。了解基质细胞对肿瘤细胞干性的调节可能会导致 确定治疗转移性疾病的新治疗靶点。 先前关于干性在远端部位转移中的作用的研究受到分析的显着限制。 使用的方法。我们开发了突破性的新技术，使我们能够直接询问 干性与体内外渗、存活和生长效率之间的关系。我们新颖的成像 方法结合了与多光子显微镜兼容的永久肺部成像窗口的使用，新颖 大视场的计算重建以及新开发的生物传感器报告 诱导干性、缺氧和ROS。这些工具可以实现乳腺癌细胞的可视化和分析 因为它们外渗并在肺部形成转移集落。相比之下，传统的固定终点分析 组织无法提供有关外渗和转移生长过程中干性作用的信息。 该计划项目围绕三个主要问题进行组织。首先，我们将定义信号通路 调节肺转移微环境中的乳腺癌细胞。其次，我们将探索类茎的诱导 通过与基质细胞相互作用来调节肿瘤细胞的特性，作为外渗和随后的关键调节剂 肺部转移性生长。第三，我们将寻求关于化疗效果的新的初步数据。 转移部位。利用项目和创新方法之间的重要协同作用 随着核心的进步，这个 PPG 处于有利地位，可以为我们的理解做出突破性的贡献 CTC 外渗并在肺部生长，以及它们重新传播到第三部位。这些研究将 为转移生物学提供范式转变的见解，对临床具有重要意义 乳腺癌全身转移性疾病的治疗。

Metastasis is the major cause of mortality in human breast cancer. The mechanisms by which the primary tumor microenvironment promotes the invasion and intravasation of tumor cells has been extensively studied. In contrast, the mechanisms regulating extravasation of blood-borne tumor cells at distal sites, their survival and proliferation in their new microenvironment, and their re-dissemination to additional sites, are less studied and not well understood. Therefore, the investigation of the mechanisms that regulate breast cancer cells at the metastatic site are an area of intense scientific interest with important clinical applications. CTCs efficiently disseminate throughout the body but form metastases with low frequency. The CTCs that successfully extravasate, survive and grow at distal sites have acquired stem-like characteristics that promote these processes. The acquisition of stem-like properties is closely linked to the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Thus, the transcriptional control of stemness and EMT is an important regulator of metastatic efficiency. Stemness and/or EMT is induced by metabolic, hypoxic and redox stress, as well as by interactions with macrophages and platelets. Understanding the regulation of tumor cell stemness by stromal cells could lead to the identification of novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of metastatic disease. Previous studies on the role of stemness in metastasis to distal sites has been significantly limited by the analytic methods used. We have developed ground-breaking new techniques that allow us to directly interrogate the relationship between stemness and the efficiency of extravasation, survival and growth in vivo. Our novel imaging methods combine the use of a permanent lung imaging window compatible with multiphoton microscopy, novel computational reconstructions of large fields of view, and newly developed biosensors that report on the induction of stemness, hypoxia and ROS. These tools allow the visualization and analysis of breast cancer cells as they extravasate and form metastatic colonies in the lung. In contrast, traditional end-point analyses of fixed tissues cannot provide information on the role of stemness during extravasation and metastatic growth. This Program Project is organized around three major questions. First, we will define the signaling pathways that regulate breast cancer cells in the lung metastatic niche. Second, we will explore the induction of stem-like properties in tumor cells by interactions with stromal cells, as a critical regulator of extravasation and subsequent metastatic growth in the lung. Third, we will pursue novel preliminary data on the effects of chemotherapy in the metastatic site. Taking advantage of important synergies between the Projects and innovative methodological advances by the Cores, this PPG is well-positioned to make ground-breaking contributions to our understanding of CTC extravasation and grow in the lung, as well as their re-disseminate to tertiary sites. These studies will provide paradigm-shifting insights into the biology of metastasis, with important implications for the clinical treatment of systemic metastatic disease in breast cancer.