Mammary Cell News Volume 8.05 | Feb 11 2016

Self-Renewal of CD133^hi Cells by IL6/Notch3 Signaling Regulates Endocrine Resistance in Metastatic Breast Cancer
Researchers developed experimental models of metastatic luminal breast cancer and demonstrated that hormonal therapy (HT) can promote the generation of HT-resistant, self-renewing CD133^hi/ER^lo/IL6^hi cancer stem cells. [Nat Commun] Full Article

Polyclonal Breast Cancer Metastases Arise From Collective Dissemination of Keratin 14-Expressing Tumor Cell Clusters
Researchers used multicolor lineage tracing to demonstrate that polyclonal seeding by cell clusters is a frequent mechanism in a common mouse model of breast cancer, accounting for greater than ninety percent of metastases. [Proc Natl Acad Sci USA] Abstract | Press Release

Breast Cancer MDA-MB-231 Cells Use Secreted Heat Shock Protein-90alpha (Hsp90alpha) to Survive a Hostile Hypoxic Environment
Investigators showed that hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1α)-overexpressing breast cancer cells, MDA-MB-231, secrete heat shock protein-90alpha (Hsp90α) and use it to survive under hypoxia. [Sci Rep] Full Article

Continuous Quantification of HER2 Expression by Microfluidic Precision Immunofluorescence Estimates HER2 Gene Amplification in Breast Cancer
Scientists showed that the level of HER2 protein expression, as continuously quantified using microfluidic precision immunofluorescence in 25 breast cancer cases, including several cases with equivocal immunohistochemistry, can predict the number of HER2 gene copies as assessed by fluorescence in situ hybridization. [Sci Rep] Full Article

Downregulation of Histone H2A and H2B Pathways Is Associated with Anthracycline Sensitivity in Breast Cancer
Researchers generated paired native and epirubicin-resistant MDA-MB-231, MCF7, SKBR3 and ZR-75-1 breast cancer cell lines to identify pathways contributing to anthracycline resistance. [Breast Cancer Res] Full Article

Structural Simulation of Adenosine Phosphate via Plumbagin and Zoledronic Acid Competitively Targets JNK/Erk to Synergistically Attenuate Osteoclastogenesis in a Breast Cancer Model
Scientists explored the effect and mechanism of combined treatment with zoledronic acid and plumbagin, a widely investigated component derived from Plumbago zeylanica, against breast cancer-induced osteoclastogenesis. [Cell Death Dis] Full Article

Altered S-Nitrosothiol Homeostasis Provides a Survival Advantage to Breast Cancer Cells in HER2 Tumors and Reduces Their Sensitivity to Trastuzumab
Researchers explored the role of S-nitrosothiols (SNO) homeostasis in HER2 breast tumors. The antiproliferative action of trastuzumab in HER2-overexpressing BT-474 and SKBR-3 cells was suppressed when S-nitrosoglutathione reductase activity, which plays a key role in SNO homeostasis, was specifically inhibited with the pyrrole derivative compound N6022. [Biochim Biophys Acta] Abstract

CLINICAL RESEARCH

A Randomized, Open-Label, Multicenter, Phase III Study of Epoetin Alfa versus Best Standard of Care in Anemic Patients with Metastatic Breast Cancer Receiving Standard Chemotherapy
Investigators undertook an open-label, noninferiority study to evaluate the impact of epoetin alfa on tumor outcomes when used to treat anemia in patients receiving chemotherapy for metastatic breast cancer. [J Clin Oncol] Abstract

Observation versus Late Reintroduction of Letrozole as Adjuvant Endocrine Therapy for Hormone Receptor Positive Breast Cancer (ANZ0501 LATER): An Open-Label Randomized Controlled Trial
This randomized open label Phase III trial, recruited postmenopausal women, with hormone receptor positive early breast cancer, who had completed ≥4 years of endocrine therapy ≥1 year prior, to oral letrozole 2.5 mg daily for five years, or observation. [Ann Oncol] Abstract

Targeting the Cyclin-Dependent Kinases (CDK) 4/6 in Estrogen Receptor-Positive Breast Cancers
The review highlights current understanding of CDK signaling in both normal and malignant breast tissues, with special attention placed on recent clinical advances in inhibition of CDK4/6 in estrogen receptor-positive disease. [Breast Cancer Res] Full Article

Visit our reviews page to see a complete list of reviews in the mammary cell research field.

Australian Cancer Drug Licensed in $730 Million Deal
A promising new cancer drug, developed in Australia by the Cancer Therapeutics CRC (CTx), has been licensed to United States pharmaceutical company Merck in a deal worth $730 million. According to Dr Tom Peat from Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), one of the key research partners in CTx, the drug is designed to inhibit the protein PRMT5, which is associated with a range of cancers, including mantle cell lymphoma, lung cancer, breast cancer and colorectal cancer. [CSIRO] Press Release

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NEW Pathologist – Breast/Gastrointestinal/Genitourinary Cancer (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center)

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

Manager – Medical and Breast Imaging (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)

Postdoctoral Fellowship – Breast Cancer Biology (Washington University School of Medicine)

Professorship – Clinical Breast Cancer Research (University of Leeds)

Clinical Pathways Associate – Cancer Therapeutics (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)

Postdoctoral Fellowship – Breast Cancer Development (University of Pennsylvania)

Postdoctoral Fellowship – Breast Cancer Translational Research (University of Bern)

Director Clinical Research – Medical Oncology (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)

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