Lefebvre Chloé C, Giowachini Philippine, Derrien Jennifer, Naour Maxime, Corre Isabelle, Thirouard Laura, Douillard Elise, Chiron David, Guillonneau François, Treps Lucas, Campone Mario, Juin Philippe P, Souazé Frédérique
Université de Nantes, INSERM, CNRS, CRCI2NA, Nantes, France.
Equipe labélisée LIGUE Contre le Cancer, Paris, France.
Cell Death Dis. 2025 Aug 9;16(1):603. doi: 10.1038/s41419-025-07920-6.
Breast cancer-associated fibroblasts (bCAFs) comprise inflammatory CAFs (iCAFs), characterized by the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and myofibroblastic CAFs (myCAFs), distinguished by their high production of extracellular matrix and their immunosuppressive properties. We previously showed that targeting the anti-apoptotic protein MCL-1 in primary culture of bCAF derived directly from human samples reduces their myofibroblastic characteristics. We herein show by single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis of bCAFs that MCL-1 knock down induces a phenotypic shift from wound-myCAF to IL-iCAF, characterized by the upregulation of genes associated with inflammation as well as angiogenesis-related genes. In vitro, genetic and pharmacologic MCL-1 inhibition increases VEGF secretion by bCAFs, enhancing endothelial cell tubulogenesis. In a chicken chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) model in ovo, co-engraftment of breast cancer cells and bCAFs with reduced MCL-1 expression leads to heightened peritumoral vascular density, driven by VEGF. Mechanistically, the pro-angiogenic phenotype revealed by MCL-1 inhibition is dependent on BAX-BAK activity. It results in NF-κB activation, inhibition of which by a IKKβ inhibitor suppresses the transcription of VEGF and pro-inflammatory factors triggered by MCL-1 inhibition in bCAFs. Chemotherapy downregulates MCL-1 in bCAFs via an increase of NOXA, the endogenous MCL-1 inhibitor, promoting a pro-angiogenic and inflammatory phenotype through the NOXA/MCL-1/NF-kB axis. Overall, these findings uncover a novel regulatory function of MCL-1 in determining bCAF subpopulation differentiation and highlight its role in modulating their pro-angiogenic properties, in response to treatment in particular.
乳腺癌相关成纤维细胞(bCAFs)包括炎症性成纤维细胞(iCAFs),其特征在于分泌促炎细胞因子;以及肌成纤维细胞性成纤维细胞(myCAFs),其特点是大量产生细胞外基质并具有免疫抑制特性。我们之前表明,在直接源自人类样本的bCAF原代培养物中靶向抗凋亡蛋白MCL-1可降低其肌成纤维细胞特征。我们在此通过对bCAFs的单细胞RNA测序分析表明,MCL-1敲低诱导了从伤口-myCAF到IL-iCAF的表型转变,其特征是与炎症相关的基因以及血管生成相关基因的上调。在体外,遗传和药理学上对MCL-1的抑制增加了bCAFs分泌VEGF,增强了内皮细胞管腔形成。在鸡胚绒毛尿囊膜(CAM)模型中,共植入MCL-1表达降低的乳腺癌细胞和bCAFs会导致肿瘤周围血管密度增加,这是由VEGF驱动的。从机制上讲,MCL-1抑制所揭示的促血管生成表型依赖于BAX-BAK活性。它导致NF-κB激活,用IKKβ抑制剂抑制NF-κB可抑制bCAFs中由MCL-1抑制引发的VEGF和促炎因子的转录。化疗通过增加内源性MCL-1抑制剂NOXA来下调bCAFs中的MCL-1,通过NOXA/MCL-1/NF-κB轴促进促血管生成和炎症表型。总体而言,这些发现揭示了MCL-1在决定bCAF亚群分化中的一种新的调节功能,并突出了其在调节其促血管生成特性中的作用,特别是在响应治疗时。
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