Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Date
7-2015
Journal
Breast Cancer Research
Volume
17
Inclusive Pages
98
DOI
10.1186/s13058-015-0607-y
Keywords
Breast Neoplasms--genetics; Interleukin-13 Receptor alpha2 Subunit--genetics; Lung Neoplasms--genetics; Neoplasm Metastasis--genetics; STAT6 Transcription Factor--genetics; Signal Transduction--genetics; Transcription Factors--genetics; Tumor Suppressor Proteins--genetics
Abstract
Introduction
Basal-like breast cancer (BLBC) is an aggressive subtype often characterized by distant metastasis, poor patient prognosis, and limited treatment options. Therefore, the discovery of alternative targets to restrain its metastatic potential is urgently needed. In this study, we aimed to identify novel genes that drive metastasis of BLBC and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of action.
Methods
An unbiased approach using gene expression profiling of a BLBC progression model and in silicoleveraging of pre-existing tumor transcriptomes were used to uncover metastasis-promoting genes. Lentiviral-mediated knockdown of interleukin-13 receptor alpha 2 (IL13Ralpha2) coupled with whole-body in vivo bioluminescence imaging was performed to assess its role in regulating breast cancer tumor growth and lung metastasis. Gene expression microarray analysis was followed by in vitro validation and cell migration assays to elucidate the downstream molecular pathways involved in this process.
Results
We found that overexpression of the decoy receptor IL13Ralpha2 is significantly enriched in basal compared with luminal primary breast tumors as well as in a subset of metastatic basal-B breast cancer cells. Importantly, breast cancer patients with high-grade tumors and increased IL13Ralpha2 levels had significantly worse prognosis for metastasis-free survival compared with patients with low expression. Depletion of IL13Ralpha2 in metastatic breast cancer cells modestly delayed primary tumor growth but dramatically suppressed lung metastasis in vivo. Furthermore, IL13Ralpha2 silencing was associated with enhanced IL-13-mediated phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT6) and impaired migratory ability of metastatic breast cancer cells. Interestingly, genome-wide transcriptional analysis revealed that IL13Ralpha2 knockdown and IL-13 treatment cooperatively upregulated the metastasis suppressor tumor protein 63 (TP63) in a STAT6-dependent manner. These observations are consistent with increased metastasis-free survival of breast cancer patients with high levels of TP63 and STAT6 expression and suggest that the STAT6-TP63 pathway could be involved in impairing metastatic dissemination of breast cancer cells to the lungs.
Conclusion
Our findings indicate that IL13Ralpha2 could be used as a promising biomarker to predict patient outcome and provide a rationale for assessing the efficacy of anti-IL13Ralpha2 therapies in a subset of highly aggressive basal-like breast tumors as a strategy to prevent metastatic disease.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
APA Citation
Papageorgis, P., Ozturk, S., Lambert, A.W., Neophytou, C.M., Tzatsos, A. et al. (2015). Targeting IL13Ralpha2 activates STAT6-TP63 pathway to suppress breast cancer lung metastasis. Breast Cancer Research, 17:98.
Peer Reviewed
1
Open Access
1
Supplementary materials and methods
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Comments
Reproduced with permission of BioMed Central. Breast Cancer Research.