Mammary Cell News Volume 7.17 | May 7 2015

Porous Silicon Microparticle Potentiates Anti-Tumor Immunity by Enhancing Cross-Presentation and Inducing Type I Interferon Response
Researchers report a porous silicon microparticle (PSM)-based cancer vaccine that greatly enhanced cross-presentation and activates type I interferon response in dendritic cells (DCs). DCs primed with PSM-loaded HER2 antigen produced robust CD8 T cell-dependent anti-tumor immunity in mice bearing HER2⁺ mammary gland tumors. [Cell Rep] Full Article | Graphical Abstract | Press Release

c-Jun N-Terminal Kinase 2 Prevents Luminal Cell Commitment in Normal Mammary Glands and Tumors by Inhibiting p53/Notch1 and Breast Cancer Gene 1 Expression
c-Jun N-terminal kinase 2 (JNK2) prevented precocious pubertal mammary development and inhibited Notch-dependent expansion of luminal cell populations. In a p53 knockout model, JNK2 restricted luminal populations independently of Notch1, by suppressing Brca1 expression and promoting epithelial to mesenchymal transition. [Oncotarget] Full Article

ErbB2-Intronic MicroRNA-4728: A Novel Tumor Suppressor and Antagonist of Oncogenic MAPK Signaling
Investigators demonstrated that microRNA-4728 is a negative regulator of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling through directly targeting the extracellular-signal related kinase upstream kinase mammalian STE20-like protein kinase 4 and exerted numerous tumor-suppressive properties in vitro and in animal models. [Cell Death Dis] Full Article

Metastatic Breast Cancer Cells in Lymph Nodes Increase Nodal Collagen Density
Scientists investigated extracellular matrix molecules such as collagen I fibers in the lymph nodes of mice bearing orthotopic human breast cancer xenografts. The lymph nodes in mice with metastatic MDA-MB-231 and SUM159 tumor xenografts and tumor xenografts grown from circulating tumor cell lines displayed an increased collagen I density compared to mice with no tumor and mice with non-metastatic T-47D and MCF-7 tumor xenografts. [Sci Rep] Full Article

Breast Cancer Cell Line MCF7 Escapes from G1/S Arrest Induced by Proteasome Inhibition through a GSK-3β Dependent Mechanism
Researchers focused on the role of proteasome inhibition in cell cycle progression and the role of autophagy in the proliferation recovery. The effect of MG132 on MCF7 was reproduced on MCF10A cells in the presence of the glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK-3β) inhibitor VII. [Sci Rep] Full Article

LW-213 Induces G2/M Cell Cycle Arrest through AKT/GSK3β/β-Catenin Signaling Pathway in Human Breast Cancer Cells.
To study whether LW-213 inhibited cancer cells and explore a possible mechanism, scientists investigated the compound in several cancer cell lines. They found LW-213 arrested G2/M cycle in breast cancer cells by suppression of Akt/Gsk3β/β-catenin signaling pathway. [Mol Carcinogen] Abstract

Curcumin Prevents Palmitoylation of Integrin β4 in Breast Cancer Cells
The authors found that the levels of integrin β4 (ITG β4) palmitoylation correlated with the invasive potential of breast cancer cells, and that curcumin effectively reduced the levels of ITG β4 palmitoylation in invasive breast cancer cells. [PLoS One] Full Article

Metallothionein-3 Increases Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cell Invasiveness via Induction of Metalloproteinase Expression
To clarify the role of metallothionein-3 (MT3) in breast cancer progression, researchers analyzed the effect of MT3-overexpression on proliferation, invasiveness, migration, and tumorigenesis of breast cancer MDA-MB-231/BO2 cells. It was found that MDA-MB-231/BO2 cells overexpressing MT3 were characterized by increased invasiveness in vitro, compared to the control cells. [PLoS One] Full Article

Human Umbilical Cord Matrix Mesenchymal Stem Cells Suppress the Growth of Breast Cancer by Expression of Tumor Suppressor Genes
Human and rat umbilical cord matrix mesenchymal stem cells (UCMSC) possess the ability to control the growth of breast carcinoma cells. Comparative analyses of two types of UCMSC suggest that rat UCMSC-dependent growth regulation is significantly stronger than that of human UCMSC. [PLoS One] Full Article

CLINICAL RESEARCH

First-in-Human Trial of a Novel Anti-Trop-2 Antibody-SN-38 Conjugate, Sacituzumab Govitecan, for the Treatment of Diverse Metastatic Solid Tumors
Sacituzumab govitecan is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeting Trop-2, a surface glycoprotein expressed on many epithelial tumors, for delivery of SN-38, the active metabolite of irinotecan. This Phase I trial evaluated this ADC as a potential therapeutic for pretreated patients with a variety of metastatic solid cancers. [Clin Cancer Res] Abstract

Six versus Twelve Months of Adjuvant Trastuzumab in Combination with Dose-Dense Chemotherapy for Women with HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: A Multicenter Randomized Study by the Hellenic Oncology Research Group (HORG)
Axillary node-positive or high-risk node-negative women with HER2-positive early breast cancer were randomized to receive twelve or six months of adjuvant trastuzumab concurrently with dose-dense, G-CSF-supported docetaxel. [Ann Oncol] Abstract

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Genetic Mapping for Breast Cancer Risk
The Medical College of Wisconsin has received a five-year, $1.75 million dollar grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute to identify factors in the microenvironment of tumors that impact breast cancer risk. [Medical College of Wisconsin] Press Release

UB Spinoff Gets $2 Million for Research on Cancer Therapy
For-Robin, a University at Buffalo (UB) spinoff company, has received a $2 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to study and develop a promising potential treatment for breast and other types of cancer, UB and U.S. Congressman Brian Higgins have announced. [University of Buffalo] Press Release

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NEW PhD Student – Epigenetic Editing to Mimic and Reverse Breast Cancer Resistance (University Medical Center Groningen)

NEW Postdoctoral Positions – Molecular Cancer Biology (University of Pennsylvania)

NEW Postdoctoral Position – ER Stress and Cancer Biology (Baylor College of Medicine)

Research Associate – Cell Separation (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.)

PhD Student – Novel Molecular Biomarkers for Breast Cancer (University of Gothenburg)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Extracellular Matrix Alterations Associated with Breast Cancer (Institute of Cancer Research)

Postdoctoral Research Fellow – Prostate Cancer and Breast Cancer (Baylor College of Medicine)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Breast Cancer & Stem Cell Biology (University of Cincinnati)

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