Servadei Francesca, Bonfiglio Rita, Sisto Renata, Casciardi Stefano, Giacobbi Erica, Scioli Maria Paola, Palumbo Valeria, Buonomo Claudio Oreste, Melino Gerry, Mauriello Alessandro, Scimeca Manuel
Department of Experimental Medicine, Tor Vergata Oncoscience Research (TOR), University of Rome "Tor Vergata", 00133 Rome, Italy.
Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, INAIL Research, Monte Porzio Catone, 00078 Rome, Italy.
Int J Mol Sci. 2025 May 7;26(9):4427. doi: 10.3390/ijms26094427.
The growing incidence of breast cancer over time suggests that environmental factors might contribute to the underlying causes of the disease. Mercury, a toxic metal classified as a Substance of Very High Concern, accumulates in the body through contaminated food, air, water, and soil, raising concerns about its role in tumor biology. The main aim of this study was to identify the possible associations between in situ mercury bioaccumulation and the molecular features of breast cancer. To achieve this, a total of 26 breast cancer cases were analyzed using an integrated approach that combined DNA and RNA sequencing, histological analysis, and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to assess mercury bioaccumulation. Mercury was detected in 72% of the cases. A significant positive correlation was found between mercury bioaccumulation and CXCR4 expression in breast cancer tissues. Bioinformatic analysis further revealed that CXCR4 expression was significantly higher in metastatic tissues compared to primary tumors. These findings suggest that mercury accumulation may influence tumor biology through the CXCR4-CXCL12 signaling pathway, highlighting a potential mechanism by which mercury contributes to breast cancer progression.
随着时间的推移，乳腺癌发病率不断上升，这表明环境因素可能是该疾病潜在病因的一部分。汞是一种被列为高度关注物质的有毒金属，可通过受污染的食物、空气、水和土壤在体内蓄积，这引发了人们对其在肿瘤生物学中作用的担忧。本研究的主要目的是确定体内汞生物蓄积与乳腺癌分子特征之间的可能关联。为实现这一目标，采用DNA和RNA测序、组织学分析以及电感耦合等离子体质谱法（ICP-MS）相结合的综合方法，对总共26例乳腺癌病例进行分析，以评估汞的生物蓄积情况。在72%的病例中检测到了汞。在乳腺癌组织中，发现汞生物蓄积与CXCR4表达之间存在显著正相关。生物信息学分析进一步显示，与原发性肿瘤相比，转移组织中的CXCR4表达显著更高。这些发现表明，汞蓄积可能通过CXCR4-CXCL12信号通路影响肿瘤生物学，凸显了汞促进乳腺癌进展的潜在机制。
