State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China.
The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Cell Prolif. 2024 Nov;57(11):e13697. doi: 10.1111/cpr.13697. Epub 2024 Jun 29.
Distant metastasis remains the primary cause of morbidity in patients with breast cancer. Hence, the development of more efficacious strategies and the exploration of potential targets for patients with metastatic breast cancer are urgently needed. The data of six patients with breast cancer brain metastases (BCBrM) from two centres were collected, and a comprehensive landscape of the entire tumour ecosystem was generated through the utilisation of single-cell RNA sequencing. We utilised the Monocle2 and CellChat algorithms to investigate the interrelationships among each subcluster. In addition, multiple signatures were collected to evaluate key components of the subclusters through multi-omics methodologies. Finally, we elucidated common expression programs of malignant cells, and experiments were conducted in vitro and in vivo to determine the functions of interleukin enhancer-binding factor 2 (ILF2), which is a key gene in the metastasis module, in BCBrM progression. We found that subclusters in each major cell type exhibited diverse characteristics. Besides, our study indicated that ILF2 was specifically associated with BCBrM, and experimental validations further demonstrated that ILF2 deficiency hindered BCBrM progression. Our study offers novel perspectives on the heterogeneity of BCBrM and suggests that ILF2 could serve as a promising biomarker or therapeutic target for BCBrM.
远处转移仍然是乳腺癌患者发病的主要原因。因此,迫切需要为转移性乳腺癌患者开发更有效的策略和探索潜在的靶点。我们收集了来自两个中心的 6 名乳腺癌脑转移 (BCBrM) 患者的数据,并通过单细胞 RNA 测序生成了整个肿瘤生态系统的综合图谱。我们利用 Monocle2 和 CellChat 算法来研究每个亚群之间的相互关系。此外,我们还收集了多个特征,通过多组学方法评估亚群的关键组成部分。最后,我们阐明了恶性细胞的常见表达程序,并在体外和体内进行了实验,以确定转移模块中的关键基因白细胞介素增强因子 2 (ILF2) 在 BCBrM 进展中的作用。我们发现,每个主要细胞类型中的亚群表现出不同的特征。此外,我们的研究表明,ILF2 与 BCBrM 特异性相关,实验验证进一步表明,ILF2 缺陷阻碍了 BCBrM 的进展。我们的研究为 BCBrM 的异质性提供了新的视角,并表明 ILF2 可以作为 BCBrM 的有前途的生物标志物或治疗靶点。