LABORATORY RESEARCH Stem and Progenitor Cell Division Kinetics during Postnatal Mouse Mammary Gland Development The cycling properties of mammary stem and progenitor cells is not well understood. To determine the division properties of these cells, researchers administered synthetic nucleosides for varying periods of time to mice at different stages of postnatal development and monitored the rate of uptake of these nucleosides in the different mammary cell compartments. [Nat Commun] Full Article FOXC1 Activates Smoothened-Independent Hedgehog Signaling in Basal-Like Breast Cancer Investigators demonstrated that FOXC1 controls cancer stem cell properties enriched in basal-like breast cancer cells via activation of Smoothened-independent Hedgehog signaling. [Cell Rep] Full Article | Graphical Abstract Honokiol Sensitizes Breast Cancer Cells to TNFα Induction of Apoptosis by Inhibiting Nur77 Expression Investigators aimed to determine whether and how Nur77 serves to mediate the effect of the inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα) in cancer cells and to identify and characterize new agents targeting Nur77 for cancer therapy. [Br J Pharmacol] Abstract Knockdown of miR-221 Promotes the Cisplatin-Inducing Apoptosis by Targeting the BIM-Bax/Bak Axis in Breast Cancer The authors indicated that although an anti-miR-221 oligonucleotide alone did not influence the viability of breast cancer (BC) cell lines markedly, it significantly promoted the cytotoxicity of cisplatin to BC cells. [Tumor Biol] Abstract The Unique Transcriptional Response Produced by Concurrent Estrogen and Progesterone Treatment in Breast Cancer Cells Results in Upregulation of Growth Factor Pathways and Switching from a Luminal A to a Basal-Like Subtype Scientists contrasted progesterone receptor function in estrogen pretreated ZR-75-1 breast cancer cells with vehicle treated ZR-75-1 and T-47D breast cancer cells using expression microarrays and chromatin immunoprecipitation-sequencing. [BMC Cancer] Full Article MiR-33a Suppresses Breast Cancer Cell Proliferation and Metastasis by Targeting ADAM9 and ROS1 Investigators found that downregulated microRNA (miR)-33a in breast cancer tissues correlates with lymph node metastasis. MiR-33a expression is significantly lower in the highly metastatic breast cancer cell lines than the noncancerous breast epithelial cells and non-metastatic breast cancer cells. [Protein Cell] Full Article Choline Kinase-α Protein and Phosphatidylcholine but not Phosphocholine Are Required for Breast Cancer Cell Survival The authors used triple negative MDA-MB-231 and SUM149 breast cancer cells to investigate the role of choline kinase-α (Chk-α) in cancer, by examining Chk-α protein levels, cell viability/proliferation, choline phospholipid and lipid metabolism, lipid droplet formation, and apoptosis, following treatment with V-11-0711. [NMR Biomed] Abstract GATA6 Is Overexpressed in Breast Cancer and Promotes Breast Cancer Cell Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition by Upregulating Slug Expression The authors showed that GATA6 is elevated in breast cancer (BC) and its expression level is positively correlated with metastasis. Overexpression of GATA6 in BC cells increased epithelial-mesenchymal transition. [Exp Mol Pathol] Abstract Breast Cancer Cell Adhesome and Degradome Interact to Drive Metastasis The authors compared non-metastatic and metastatic human breast cancer cell lines and xenografts, in which they measured growth rate, migration, invasion, colony formation, protein expression, and enzyme activity in vitro and in vivo. [npj Breast Cancer] Full Article CLINICAL RESEARCH Abiraterone Acetate, Exemestane or the Combination in Post-Menopausal Patients with Estrogen Receptor–Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer Researchers assessed whether combined inhibition of androgen biosynthesis with abiraterone acetate plus prednisone and estradiol synthesis with exemestane may be of clinical benefit to postmenopausal patients with nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor-pretreated estrogen receptor–positive metastatic breast cancer. [Ann Oncol] Abstract | Full Article Efficacy and Safety of Bevacizumab Combined with Chemotherapy for Managing Metastatic Breast Cancer: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials Although the FDA revoked metastatic breast cancer (MBC) from bevacizumab (BEV) indication in 2011, BEV combined with paclitaxel has been written in the breast cancer NCCN guidelines. The authors evaluated the efficacy and safety of BEV+chemotherapy for managing MBC. [Sci Rep] Full Article |