Breast cancer cells rely on environmental pyruvate to shape the metastatic niche.

ABSTRACT: The extracellular matrix is a major component of the local environment-that is, the niche-that determines cell behaviour¹. During metastatic growth, cancer cells shape the extracellular matrix of the metastatic niche by hydroxylating collagen to promote their own metastatic growth^2,3. However, only particular nutrients might support the ability of cancer cells to hydroxylate collagen, because nutrients dictate which enzymatic reactions are active in cancer cells^4,5. Here we show that breast cancer cells rely on the nutrient pyruvate to drive collagen-based remodelling of the extracellular matrix in the lung metastatic niche. Specifically, we discovered that pyruvate uptake induces the production of α-ketoglutarate. This metabolite in turn activates collagen

SUBMITTER: Elia I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6451642 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature