High-mobility group box 1 released by autophagic cancer-associated fibroblasts maintains the stemness of luminal breast cancer cells.

ABSTRACT: Cancer stem cells/cancer-initiating cells (CICs) and their microenvironmental niche play a vital role in malignant tumour recurrence and metastasis. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are major components of the niche of breast cancer-initiating cells (BCICs), and their interactions may profoundly affect breast cancer progression. Autophagy has been considered to be a critical process for CIC maintenance, but whether it is involved in the cross-talk between CAFs and CICs to affect tumourigenesis and pathological significance has not been determined. In this study, we found that the presence of CAFs containing high levels of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3II), a marker of autophagosomes, was associated with more aggressive luminal human breast cancer. CAFs in human lum

SUBMITTER: Zhao XL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8171497 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature