Identification of a minority population of LMO2⁺ breast cancer cells that integrate into the vasculature and initiate metastasis.

ABSTRACT: Metastasis is responsible for most breast cancer-related deaths; however, identifying the cellular determinants of metastasis has remained challenging. Here, we identified a minority population of immature THY1⁺/VEGFA⁺ tumor epithelial cells in human breast tumor biopsies that display angiogenic features and are marked by the expression of the oncogene, LMO2. Higher abundance of LMO2⁺ basal cells correlated with tumor endothelial content and predicted poor distant recurrence-free survival in patients. Using MMTV-PyMT/Lmo2^CreERT2 mice, we demonstrated that Lmo2 lineage-traced cells integrate into the vasculature and have a higher propensity to metastasize. LMO2 knockdown in human breast tumors reduced lung

SUBMITTER: Sikandar SS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10939096 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature