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Location matters: spatial-dependent effects of myofibroblasts determine survival in breast cancer

ABSTRACT: While cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) have been historically considered pro-tumorigenic, several studies found that myofibroblast-like CAFs (myCAFs) may have tumor-restraining properties. In our previous study (PMID: 37863888), we performed multi-regional bulk transcriptomics profiling of 8 ER+/PR+/HER2- breast tumors and matched peri-tumoral tissues. We identified an adipose-enriched peri-tumoral subtype which was significantly associated with poorer overall survival in breast cancer patients, in contrast to a myofibroblast-enriched subtype. Here, we performed single-nucleus RNA-sequencing of 2 ER+/PR+/HER2- invasive breast carcinomas and their matched peri-tumoral tissues (1-7 cm from tumor margins), as well as 1 reduction mammoplasty (RM) sample. We identified tumor-induced changes in the peri-tumoral adipocytes compared to RM adipocytes, as well as a high abundance of myCAFs in the larger tumor, whereas a distinct myofibroblast-like subpopulation was found in the peri-tumoral tissues of the smaller tumor. Together with deconvolution analyses of TCGA data and 3D co-culture experiments, we show that that myofibroblasts have both tumor-promoting or -restraining roles depending on their location within or surrounding the tumor.

ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens

PROVIDER: GSE271813 | GEO | 2026/04/15

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Breast cancers display a high degree of diversity between and within tumors due to variations in both tumor cells and non-malignant cells of the tumor microenvironment (TME). While most studies on the TME have focused on stroma located within the tumor mass, few studies have examined the peri-tumoral microenvironment, which extends beyond the tumor margins and includes the surrounding, benign-appearing tissues. Here, we examined the heterogeneity in tumors and peri-tumoral stroma from 10 ER+PR+HER2- invasive breast carcinomas, through multi-region transcriptomic profiling. Tumor samples were obtained from the center, superior, inferior, medial, and lateral (C, S, Inf, M, L) regions of each tumor. Peritumoral samples were obtained from four radial directions corresponding to the regions the tumor samples were collected from (S, Inf, M, L) and from three zones of increasing distances from the tumor margins (Zone 1: 1-3 cm, Zone 2: 3-5 cm, Zone 3: 5-7 cm). To represent the normal breast transcriptomic state, 5 non-directional samples were each obtained from 3 non-tumor bearing breasts (NTB) - 1 patient had undergone cosmetic reduction mammoplasty and 2 patients were germline BRCA2-mutation carriers who had undergone risk-reducing mammoplasties. Total RNA was isolated and microarray was performed using the human Clariom™ S Assay (ThermoFisher Scientific). In total, 144 transcriptomic profiles (47 Tumor, 82 peri-tumoral stroma, 15 NTB) were analyzed. Heterogeneity was observed both within and between the tumor samples, highlighting that unlike the histological classification, an individual tumor is often comprised of several molecular sub-types. Similarly, the peri-tumoral stroma was also heterogeneous, albeit independent of the tumor heterogeneity. Four distinct stromal clusters were noted, which differed in their molecular pathways and cell type composition. Among these, the adipose-enriched stroma that had inflammatory cancer-associated fibroblasts and innate immune cells was significantly associated with poorer overall survival, in contrast to the myofibroblast-enriched stroma. These data together suggest that the peri-tumoral heterogeneity may be an important determinant of the evolution and treatment of breast cancers.

Project description:ABSTRACT Background: Human breast cancer most frequently originates within a well-defined anatomical structure referred to as the terminal duct lobular unit (TDLU). This structure is endowed with its very own lobular fibroblasts representing one out of two steady-state fibroblast subtypes – the other being interlobular fibroblasts. While cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are increasingly appreciated as covering a spectrum of perturbed states, we lack a coherent understanding of their relationship – if any - with the steady-state fibroblast subtypes. To address this, we here established two autologous CAF lines representing inflammatory CAFs (iCAFs) and myofibroblast CAFs (myCAFs), and compared them with already established interlobular- and lobular fibroblasts with respect to their origin and impact on tumor formation. Methods: Primary breast tumor derived CAFs were transduced to express human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) and sorted into CD105low and CD105high populations using fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS). The two populations were tested for differentiation similarities to iCAF and myCAF states through transcriptome-wide RNA-Sequencing (RNA-Seq) including comparison to an available iCAF-myCAF cell state atlas. Inference of origin in interlobular and lobular fibroblasts relied on RNA-seq profiles, immunocytochemistry and growth characteristics. Osteogenic differentiation and bone formation assays in culture and in vivo were employed to gauge for origin in bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (bMSCs). Functional characteristics were assessed with respect to contractility in culture and interaction with tumor cells in mouse xenografts. The cells’ gene expression signatures were tested for association with clinical outcome of breast cancer patients using survival data in The Cancer Genome Atlas database (TCGA). Results: We demonstrate that iCAFs have properties in common with interlobular fibroblasts while myCAFs and lobular fibroblasts are related. None of the CAFs qualify as bMSCs as revealed by lack of critical performance in bone formation assays. Functionally, myCAFs and lobular fibroblasts are almost equally tumor promoting as opposed to iCAFs and interlobular fibroblasts. A myCAF gene signature is found to associate with poor breast cancer specific survival. Conclusions: We propose that iCAFs and myCAFs originate in interlobular and lobular fibroblasts, respectively, and more importantly, that the tumor promoting properties of lobular fibroblasts renders the TDLU an epicenter for breast cancer evolution.

Project description:Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease for which prognosis and treatment strategies are largely governed by the receptor status (estrogen, progesterone and Her2-neu) of the tumor cells. Gene expression profiling of whole breast tumors further stratifies breast cancer into several molecular subtypes which also co-segregate with the receptor status of the tumor cells. We postulated that cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs) within the tumor stroma may exhibit subtype specific gene expression profiles and thus contribute to the biology of the disease in a subtype specific manner. Several studies have reported gene expression profile differences between CAFs and normal breast fibroblasts but in none of these studies were the results stratified based on tumor subtypes. To address whether gene expression in breast cancer associated fibroblasts varies between breast cancer subtypes, we compared the gene expression profiles of early passage primary CAFs isolated from twenty human breast cancer samples representing three main subtypes; seven ER+, seven triple negative (TNBC) and six Her2+. We observed significant expression differences between CAFs derived from Her2+ breast cancer and CAFs from TNBC and ER+ cancers, particularly in pathways associated with cytoskeleton and integrin signaling. In the case of Her2+ breast cancer, the signaling pathways found to be selectively up regulated in CAFs may contribute to the more invasive properties and unfavorable prognosis of Her2+ breast cancer. These data demonstrate that in addition to the distinct molecular profiles that characterize the neoplastic cells, CAF gene expression is also differentially regulated in distinct subtypes of breast cancer. We isolated CAFs from twenty primary breast cancer samples representing three main subtypes (ER+ (n=7), TNBC (n=7), Her2+ (n=6)) and performed gene expression profile analyses on RNA isolated from these early passage CAFs. Those samples were done in two batches with 4 samples repeated in both batches. One TNBC sample was found to be an outlier and not used in the analysis.

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Location matters: spatial-dependent effects of myofibroblasts determine survival in breast cancer

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