Clinical Laboratory, Huazhong University of Science and Technology Union Shenzhen Hospital, Affiliated Shenzhen Sixth Hospital of Shenzhen University, No. 89 Taoyuan Road, Nanshan District, Shenzhen, 518052, PR China.
Shenzhen Nanshan District Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Shenzhen, 518052, PR China.
BMC Cancer. 2023 May 23;23(1):473. doi: 10.1186/s12885-023-10844-z.
BACKGROUND: The contributive role of the microbiome in tumor progression has been reported in multiple studies, such as the Fusobacterium nucleatum (F. nucleatum) in breast cancer (BC). This study aimed to explore the role of F. nucleatum-derived small extracellular vesicles (Fn-EVs) in BC and preliminarily uncover the mechanism. METHODS: Ten normal and 20 cancerous breast tissues were harvested to investigate the gDNA expression of F. nucleatum and its relation with the clinical characteristics of BC patients. After isolating Fn-EVs by ultracentrifugation from F. nucleatum (ATCC 25,586), both MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cells were treated with PBS, Fn, or Fn-EVs, followed by being subjected to CCK-8, Edu staining, wound healing, and Transwell assays to detect their cell viability, proliferation, migration, and invasion. TLR4 expression in BC cells with diverse treatments was assessed by western blot. In vivo experiments were performed to verify its role in tumor growth and liver metastasis. RESULTS: The F. nucleatum gDNA levels of breast tissues in BC patients were significantly higher than those in normal subjects, and positively associated with tumor size and metastasis. Fn-EVs administration significantly enhanced the cell viability, proliferation, migration, and invasion of BC cells, while knocking down TLR4 in BC cells could block these effects. Furthermore, in vivo study verified the contributive role of Fn-EVs in tumor growth and metastasis of BC, which might rely on its regulation of TLR4. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, our results suggest that F. nucleatum plays an important role in BC tumor growth and metastasis by regulating TLR4 through Fn-EVs. Thus, a better understanding of this process may aid in the development of novel therapeutic agents.
背景:多项研究报道了微生物组在肿瘤进展中的贡献作用,例如在乳腺癌(BC)中发现的具核梭杆菌(Fusobacterium nucleatum,F. nucleatum)。本研究旨在探讨 F. nucleatum 衍生的小细胞外囊泡(Fn-EVs)在 BC 中的作用,并初步揭示其机制。
方法:采集 10 份正常和 20 份癌性乳腺组织,以研究 F. nucleatum 的 gDNA 表达及其与 BC 患者临床特征的关系。通过超速离心从 F. nucleatum(ATCC 25,586)中分离 Fn-EVs 后,用 PBS、Fn 或 Fn-EVs 处理 MDA-MB-231 和 MCF-7 细胞,然后进行 CCK-8、Edu 染色、划痕愈合和 Transwell 测定,以检测细胞活力、增殖、迁移和侵袭。通过 Western blot 检测不同处理组 BC 细胞中 TLR4 的表达。进行体内实验以验证其在肿瘤生长和肝转移中的作用。
结果:BC 患者乳腺组织中的 F. nucleatum gDNA 水平明显高于正常组,且与肿瘤大小和转移呈正相关。Fn-EVs 处理显著增强了 BC 细胞的活力、增殖、迁移和侵袭能力,而在 BC 细胞中敲低 TLR4 可阻断这些作用。此外,体内研究验证了 Fn-EVs 在 BC 肿瘤生长和转移中的促进作用,这可能依赖于其对 TLR4 的调节。
结论:综上所述,我们的研究结果表明,F. nucleatum 通过 Fn-EVs 调节 TLR4 在 BC 肿瘤生长和转移中发挥重要作用。因此,更好地理解这一过程可能有助于开发新的治疗药物。
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