In the last ten years, there has been a dramatic surge in the number of publications where single or groups of cells are grown in substrata that have elements of basement membrane leading to the ...formation of tissue-like structures referred to as organoids. However, this field of research began many decades ago, when the pioneers of cell culture began to ask questions we still ask today: How does organogenesis occur? How do signals integrate to make such vastly different tissues and organs given that the sequence of the genome in our trillions of cells is identical? Here, we summarize how work over the past century generated the conceptual framework that has allowed us to make progress in the understanding of tissue-specific morphogenetic programs. The development of cell culture systems that provide accurate and physiologically relevant models are proving to be key in establishing appropriate platforms for the development of new therapeutic strategies.
Tumors are like new organs and are made of multiple cell types and components. The tumor competes with the normal microenvironment to overcome antitumorigenic pressures. Before that battle is won, ...the tumor may exist within the organ unnoticed by the host, referred to as 'occult cancer'. We review how normal tissue homeostasis and architecture inhibit progression of cancer and how changes in the microenvironment can shift the balance of these signals to the procancerous state. We also include a discussion of how this information is being tailored for clinical use.
Full text
Available for:
DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
p53 is a frequent target for mutation in human tumors, and mutant p53 proteins can actively contribute to tumorigenesis. We employed a three-dimensional culture model in which nonmalignant breast ...epithelial cells form spheroids reminiscent of acinar structures found in vivo, whereas breast cancer cells display highly disorganized morphology. We found that mutant p53 depletion is sufficient to phenotypically revert breast cancer cells to a more acinar-like morphology. Genome-wide expression analysis identified the mevalonate pathway as significantly upregulated by mutant p53. Statins and sterol biosynthesis intermediates reveal that this pathway is both necessary and sufficient for the phenotypic effects of mutant p53 on breast tissue architecture. Mutant p53 associates with sterol gene promoters at least partly via SREBP transcription factors. Finally, p53 mutation correlates with highly expressed sterol biosynthesis genes in human breast tumors. These findings implicate the mevalonate pathway as a therapeutic target for tumors bearing mutations in p53.
Display omitted
► Depletion of mutant p53 phenotypically reverts breast cancer cells in 3D culture ► Mutant p53 upregulates mevalonate pathway genes via SREBP transcription factors ► HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors mimic the phenotypic effects of mutant p53 depletion ► TP53 mutation correlates with elevation of mevalonate pathway genes in human tumors
Metastasis-associated p53 mutations disrupt breast tissue organization by upregulating transcription of sterol biosynthesis genes, highlighting p53 status as a predictive marker for responsiveness to statin therapy in cancer.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
There is a considerable resurgence of interest in the role of aerobic glycolysis in cancer; however, increased glycolysis is frequently viewed as a consequence of oncogenic events that drive ...malignant cell growth and survival. Here we provide evidence that increased glycolytic activation itself can be an oncogenic event in a physiologically relevant 3D culture model. Overexpression of glucose transporter type 3 (GLUT3) in nonmalignant human breast cells activated known oncogenic signaling pathways, including EGFR, β1 integrin, MEK, and AKT, leading to loss of tissue polarity and increased growth. Conversely, reduction of glucose uptake in malignant cells promoted the formation of organized and growth-arrested structures with basal polarity, and suppressed oncogenic pathways. Unexpectedly and importantly, we found that unlike reported literature, in 3D the differences between "normal" and malignant phenotypes could not be explained by HIF-1α/2α, AMPK, or mTOR pathways. Loss of epithelial integrity involved activation of RAP1 via exchange protein directly activated by cAMP (EPAC), involving also O-linked N-acetylglucosamine modification downstream of the hexosamine biosynthetic pathway. The former, in turn, was mediated by pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) interaction with soluble adenylyl cyclase. Our findings show that increased glucose uptake activates known oncogenic pathways to induce malignant phenotype, and provide possible targets for diagnosis and therapeutics.
The recent cataloging of the genomic aberrations in breast cancer has revealed the diversity and complexity of the disease at the genetic level. To unravel the functional consequences of specific ...repertoires of mutations and copy number changes on signaling pathways in breast cancer, it is crucial to develop model systems that truly recapitulate the disease. Here we discuss the three-dimensional culture models currently being used or recently developed for the study of normal mammary epithelial cells and breast cancer, including primary tumors and dormancy. We discuss the insights gained from these models in regards to cell signaling and potential therapeutic strategies, and the challenges that need to be met for the generation of heterotypic breast cancer model systems that are amenable for high-throughput approaches.
Display omitted
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Recent advancements in the field of cancer have established that the process of metastasis is organ-specific with tumor cell dissemination occurring in the very early stages of disease. ...Pre-metastatic niches are actively remodeled and transformed by both primary tumor specific factors and by influences from the extracellular matrix.Although improvements in cancer therapies have significantly improved outcomes in patients with early stage disease, the risk of recurrence and relapse leading to mortality remains high. Recent studies have emerged highlighting the influence of dormant tumor cells and exosomes as key players in cancer relapse. In this review we discuss the critical mediators of tumor progression and their link to cancer dormancy, while also exploring possible therapeutics for targeting relapse.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
For decades, the work of cell and developmental biologists has demonstrated the striking ability of the mesenchyme and the stroma to instruct epithelial form and function in the mammary gland 1–3, ...but the role of extracellular matrix (ECM) molecules in mammary pattern specification has not been elucidated. Here, we show that stromal collagen I (Col-I) fibers in the mammary fat pad are axially oriented prior to branching morphogenesis. Upon puberty, the branching epithelium orients along these fibers, thereby adopting a similar axial bias. To establish a causal relationship from Col-I fiber to epithelial orientation, we embedded mammary organoids within axially oriented Col-I fiber gels and observed dramatic epithelial co-orientation. Whereas a constitutively active form of Rac1, a molecule implicated in cell motility, prevented a directional epithelial response to Col-I fiber orientation, inhibition of the RhoA/Rho-associated kinase (ROCK) pathway did not. However, time-lapse studies revealed that, within randomly oriented Col-I matrices, the epithelium axially aligns fibers at branch sites via RhoA/ROCK-mediated contractions. Our data provide an explanation for how the stromal ECM encodes architectural cues for branch orientation as well as how the branching epithelium interprets and reinforces these cues through distinct signaling processes.
► Oriented Col-I fibers precede—and appear to direct—the mammary epithelium ► Epithelial branch direction is determined by Col-I orientation in culture ► Constitutively active Rac1 disrupts Col-I epithelial co-orientation ► RhoA/ROCK-mediated contractions increase Col-I orientation
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Abstract The emergence of clinical drug resistance is still one of the most challenging factors in cancer treatment effectiveness. Until more recently, the assumption has been that random genetic ...lesions are sufficient to explain the progression of malignancy and escape from chemotherapy. Here we propose an additional perspective, one in which the tumor cells despite the malignant genome could find a microenvironment either within the tumor or as a dormant cell to remain polar and blend into an organized context. Targeting this dynamic interplay could be considered a new avenue to prevent therapeutic resistance, and may even provide a promising effective cancer treatment.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
The development of the mammary gland is unique: the final stages of development occur postnatally at puberty under the influence of hormonal cues. Furthermore, during the life of the female, the ...mammary gland can undergo many rounds of expansion and proliferation. The mammary gland thus provides an excellent model for studying the 'stem/progenitor' cells that allow this repeated expansion and renewal. In this Review, we provide an overview of the different cell types that constitute the mammary gland, and discuss how these cell types arise and differentiate. As cellular differentiation cannot occur without proper signals, we also describe how the tissue microenvironment influences mammary gland development.
It is well established that organs of future metastasis are not passive receivers of circulating tumour cells, but are instead selectively and actively modified by the primary tumour before ...metastatic spread has even occurred. Sowing the 'seeds' of metastasis requires the action of tumour-secreted factors and tumour-shed extracellular vesicles that enable the 'soil' at distant metastatic sites to encourage the outgrowth of incoming cancer cells. In this Review, we summarize the main processes and new mechanisms involved in the formation of the pre-metastatic niche.
Full text
Available for:
IJS, NUK, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
PDF
