Mammary Cell News 9.08 March 2, 2017 | |
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TOP STORYNewly Discovered Vulnerability in an Aggressive Breast Cancer Provides Therapeutic Target Most women with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) do not respond to broadly-targeted chemotherapies, and those who do often develop resistance to the drugs. Investigators have discovered a vulnerability that offers a new strategy to combat TNBC. [Press release from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center discussing online prepublication in Cancer Discovery] Press Release | Abstract | |
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PUBLICATIONS(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)LABORATORY RESEARCHThe authors document that the vitamin D receptor (VDR) acts as a master transcriptional regulator of autophagy. Activation of the VDR by vitamin D induced autophagy and an autophagic transcriptional signature in breast cancer (BC) cells that correlated with increased survival in patients; strikingly, this signature was present in the normal mammary gland and was progressively lost in patients with metastatic BC. [Proc Natl Acad Sci USA] Abstract miR-600 Acts as a Bimodal Switch that Regulates Breast Cancer Stem Cell Fate through WNT Signaling Investigators performed two microRNA (miRNA) gain- and loss-of-function screens to identify miRNAs that regulate the choice between breast cancer stem cell (bCSC) self-renewal and differentiation. They found that miR-600 silencing results in bCSC expansion, while its overexpression reduces bCSC self-renewal, leading to decreased in vivo tumorigenicity. [Cell Rep] Full Article | Graphical Abstract Researchers examined the combination of taxanes with a breast cancer stem cell (CSC)-targeting agent sulforaphane for use against triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). They demonstrated that paclitaxel or docetaxel treatment induces IL-6 secretion and results in expansion of CSCs in TNBC cell lines. [Cancer Lett] Abstract Scientists demonstrated that compression enhances a tumor progression phenotype using an in vitro compression model, and validated the results from the in vitro model with high- and low-compressed breast cancer tissues. [Cell Death Dis] Full Article Molecular Analysis of BRCA1 in Human Breast Cancer Cells under Oxidative Stress Researchers used a combination of molecular imaging and biochemical tools to study the properties of the breast cancer susceptibility protein (BRCA)1 in human cancer cells. Their results reveal new information for the manner in which full-length BRCA1 engages its binding partner, the BRCA1-associated ring domain protein, under oxidative stress conditions. [Sci Rep] Full Article | Press Release Fatty Acid Synthase Regulates Estrogen Receptor-α Signaling in Breast Cancer Cells Using pharmacological and genetic approaches, investigators assessed the molecular relationship between fatty acid synthase (FASN) signaling and estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) signaling in breast cancer. The small compound C75, a synthetic slow-binding inhibitor of FASN activity, induced a dramatic augmentation of estradiol-stimulated, ERα-driven transcription. [Oncogenesis] Full Article Proximity of Metastatic Cells Enhances Their Mechanobiological Invasiveness Scientists previously showed that single metastatic breast-cancer cells will mechanically indent a synthetic, impenetrable polyacrylamide gel with physiological-stiffness in attempted invasion; benign breast cells did not indent the gels. In solid tumors, e.g., breast cancers, metastases occur predominantly by collective cell-invasion. They evaluated the effects of cell proximity on mechanical invasiveness, specifically through changes in gel indention. [Ann Biomed Eng] Abstract Human Brain Metastatic Stroma Attracts Breast Cancer Cells via Chemokines CXCL16 and CXCL12 Through RNA-Seq and protein analyses, the authors found that cancer-associated fibroblasts derived from human breast cancer brain metastasis express significantly higher levels of chemokines CXCL12 and CXCL16 than fibroblasts from primary breast tumors or normal breast. [NPJ Breast Cancer] Full Article Researchers aimed to evaluate anticancer effects of two naturally occurring cardiac glycosides, convallatoxin (CT) and peruvoside (PS), on ER+ and triple-negative breast cancers (TNBCs) cells. CT and PS demonstrated dose- and time-dependent cytotoxic effect on MCF-7 cells, which was further supported by loss of colony formation on drug treatment. [Cell Death Discov] Full Article Mammary Adipocytes Stimulate Breast Cancer Invasion through Metabolic Remodeling of Tumor Cells In tumor cell lines, scientists demonstrated that free fatty acids can be released over time from lipid droplets through an adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL)-dependent lipolytic pathway. In vivo, ATGL was expressed in human tumors where its expression correlated with tumor aggressiveness and was upregulated by contact with adipocytes. [JCI Insight] Full Article | |
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REVIEWSThe authors critically analyze reports investigating the ability of long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) to modulate the Ras/ERK and the phosphoinositide survival signaling pathways often aberrantly activated in breast cancer and representing the main targets of innovative therapies. [Nutrients] Full Article | Graphical Abstract Visit our reviews page to see a complete list of reviews in the mammary cell research field. | |
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SCIENCE NEWSOncolytics Biotech® Inc. announced that the Canadian Cancer Trials Group will present clinical trial data evaluating the company’s investigational immuno-oncology viral-agent, REOLYSIN®. [Press release from Oncolytics Biotech® Inc. discussing research to be presented at the American Academy of Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting, Washington, DC.] Press Release | |
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INDUSTRY NEWSAmaran Biotechnology Selects Stellar KLH for Cancer Vaccines Stellar Biotechnologies, Inc. and Amaran Biotechnology, Inc. have entered into an exclusive multi-year supply agreement in connection with clinical development studies of immunotherapies for metastatic breast cancer and other cancers. [Stellar Biotechnologies, Inc.] Press Release Roche, the Breast International Group, Breast European Adjuvant Study Team and Frontier Science Foundation announced positive results from the Phase III APHINITY study. The study met its primary endpoint and showed that adjuvant treatment with the combination of Perjeta®, Herceptin® and chemotherapy achieved a statistically significant reduction in the risk of recurrence of invasive disease or death in people with HER2-positive early breast cancer compared to Herceptin and chemotherapy alone. [Roche] Press Release Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that it has begun enrolling patients into a Phase IIa clinical study of Supinoxin™ in metastatic triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). The study will evaluate the safety and efficacy of Supinoxin™ in patients with metastatic TNBC who have failed prior treatments. [Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc.] Press Release NIH Awards CSUN Professor $1.46 Million to Support Breast, Pancreatic Cancer Research The National Institutes of Health has awarded California State University, Northridge biology professor Jonathan Kelber $1.46 million over the next four years to support his research group in their ongoing studies of the cancer “support wall” gene called PEAK1. His research has implications for future treatment diagnosis and treatment practices for breast and pancreatic cancer patients. [California State University, Northridge] Press Release | |
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POLICY NEWSSenior Republican Lawmaker Has Some Advice for U.S. Science Marchers The chairman of a congressional spending panel that oversees a wide swath of U.S. science agencies has some unusual advice for scientists planning to march on 22 April: Don’t talk about research. Instead, demand that Congress find a way to cut mandatory spending programs. [ScienceInsider] Editorial UK Scientists Welcome Changes to Controversial Research Reforms Amendments aim to protect autonomy and the independence of research funders from political interference. [Nature News] Editorial Trump’s 2018 Budget Will Squeeze Civilian Science Agencies The chunk of the federal budget that includes most of the U.S. government’s spending on basic science would shrink by 10.5% in 2018 under a plan outlined by President Donald Trump and administration officials. [ScienceInsider] Editorial
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EVENTSNEW AACR International Conference on Translational Cancer Medicine Visit our events page to see a complete list of events in the community.
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JOB OPPORTUNITIESNEW Postdoctoral Fellow – Breast Cancer (Tufts University School of Medicine) Postdoctoral Fellow – Estrogen Receptor Positive Breast Cancer (AstraZeneca) Senior Faculty Position – Epidemiology (Institute of Cancer Research) Cancer Bioinformatician – Breast Cancer (Institute of Cancer Research) Assistant or Associate Professor – Breast Cancer (Roswell Park Cancer Institute) Postdoctoral Positions – Molecular Cancer Research (University of Copenhagen) Postdoctoral Associate – Department of Therapeutic Radiology (Yale University School of Medicine) Postdoc Positions – Molecular Cancer Biology and Bioinformatics (University of Pittsburgh) Postdoctoral Associate – Mammary Stem Cell and Cancer Biology (University of Miami) Assistant Professor – Molecular Therapeutics of Cancer (Dartmouth College) Recruit Top Talent: Reach potential candidates by posting your organization’s career opportunities on the Connexon Creative Job Board at no cost.
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