Department of Pathology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Rogel Cancer Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Cancer Res. 2024 Oct 1;84(19):3235-3249. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-23-4054.
Metaplastic breast carcinomas (mBrCA) are a highly aggressive subtype of triple-negative breast cancer with histologic evidence of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and aberrant differentiation. Inactivation of the tumor suppressor gene cellular communication network factor 6 (CCN6; also known as Wnt1-induced secreted protein 3) is a feature of mBrCAs, and mice with conditional inactivation of Ccn6 in mammary epithelium (Ccn6-KO) develop spindle mBrCAs with epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. Elucidation of the precise mechanistic details of how CCN6 acts as a tumor suppressor in mBrCA could help identify improved treatment strategies. In this study, we showed that CCN6 interacts with the Wnt receptor FZD8 and coreceptor LRP6 on mBrCA cells to antagonize Wnt-induced activation of β-catenin/TCF-mediated transcription. The histone methyltransferase EZH2 was identified as a β-catenin/TCF transcriptional target in Ccn6-KO mBrCA cells. Inhibiting Wnt/β-catenin/TCF signaling in Ccn6-KO mBrCA cells led to reduced EZH2 expression, decreased histone H3 lysine 27 trimethylation, and deregulation of specific target genes. Pharmacologic inhibition of EZH2 reduced growth and metastasis of Ccn6-KO mBrCA mammary tumors in vivo. Low CCN6 is significantly associated with activated β-catenin and high EZH2 in human spindle mBrCAs compared with other subtypes. Collectively, these findings establish CCN6 as a key negative regulator of a β-catenin/TCF/EZH2 axis and highlight the inhibition of β-catenin or EZH2 as a potential therapeutic approach for patients with spindle mBrCAs. Significance: CCN6 deficiency drives metaplastic breast carcinoma growth and metastasis by increasing Wnt/β-catenin activation to upregulate EZH2, identifying EZH2 inhibition as a mechanistically guided treatment strategy for this deadly form of breast cancer.
具有上皮间质转化和异常分化特征的化生性乳腺癌(mBrCA)是三阴性乳腺癌的一种侵袭性亚型。肿瘤抑制基因细胞通讯网络因子 6(CCN6;也称为 Wnt1 诱导分泌蛋白 3)的失活是 mBrCA 的一个特征,乳腺上皮细胞中 Ccn6 条件性失活的小鼠(Ccn6-KO)会发展出具有上皮间质转化的梭形 mBrCA。阐明 CCN6 作为 mBrCA 中的肿瘤抑制因子的确切机制细节可能有助于确定改善的治疗策略。在这项研究中,我们表明 CCN6 与 Wnt 受体 FZD8 和核心受体 LRP6 在 mBrCA 细胞上相互作用,以拮抗 Wnt 诱导的β-连环蛋白/TCF 介导的转录激活。组蛋白甲基转移酶 EZH2 被鉴定为 Ccn6-KO mBrCA 细胞中β-连环蛋白/TCF 转录靶点。在 Ccn6-KO mBrCA 细胞中抑制 Wnt/β-连环蛋白/TCF 信号传导会导致 EZH2 表达减少、组蛋白 H3 赖氨酸 27 三甲基化减少以及特定靶基因的失调。EZH2 的药理学抑制作用降低了体内 Ccn6-KO mBrCA 乳腺肿瘤的生长和转移。与其他亚型相比,在人类梭形 mBrCA 中,低 CCN6 与激活的β-连环蛋白和高 EZH2 显著相关。总之,这些发现确立了 CCN6 作为β-连环蛋白/TCF/EZH2 轴的关键负调节剂,并强调了抑制β-连环蛋白或 EZH2 作为治疗梭形 mBrCA 患者的潜在治疗方法。意义:CCN6 缺乏通过增加 Wnt/β-连环蛋白激活来驱动化生性乳腺癌的生长和转移,从而上调 EZH2,确定 EZH2 抑制作为这种致命形式乳腺癌的一种基于机制的治疗策略。
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