HIF1A signaling selectively supports proliferation of breast cancer in the brain.

ABSTRACT: Blood-borne metastasis to the brain is a major complication of breast cancer, but cellular pathways that enable cancer cells to selectively grow in the brain microenvironment are poorly understood. We find that cultured circulating tumor cells (CTCs), derived from blood samples of women with advanced breast cancer and directly inoculated into the mouse frontal lobe, exhibit striking differences in proliferative potential in the brain. Derivative cell lines generated by serial intracranial injections acquire selectively increased proliferative competency in the brain, with reduced orthotopic tumor growth. Increased Hypoxia Inducible Factor 1A (HIF1A)-associated signaling correlates with enhanced proliferation in the brain, and shRNA-mediated suppression of HIF1A or drug inhibition of HIF-as

SUBMITTER: Ebright RY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7725834 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature