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Matrix stiffness drives alterations in aldehyde metabolism, inducing DNA damage and transformation

ABSTRACT: Microenvironmental stiffness regulates fundamental aspects of cell behaviour, including proliferation, differentiation and metabolism, many of which are implicated in cancer initiation and progression. In the mammary gland, extracellular matrix (ECM) stiffness, associated with high mammographic density, is linked to increased breast cancer incidence. However, a mechanistic link between increased ECM stiffness and the genomic damage required for transforming mutations remains unclear. Here we show that ECM stiffness induces changes in mammary epithelial cell (MEC) metabolism which drive DNA damage. Using a mechanically tunable 3D-culture model, we demonstrate that transcriptional changes in response to increased ECM stiffness impair the ability of MECs to remove reactive aldehydes. Downregulation of multiple aldehyde dehydrogenase isoforms in MECs within a stiffer 3D ECM leads to higher levels of reactive aldehydes, resulting in genomic damage and transformation. Together, these results provide a mechanistic link between increased ECM stiffness and the genomic damage required for breast cancer initiation.

INSTRUMENT(S):

ORGANISM(S): Mus Musculus (mouse)

TISSUE(S): Epithelial Cell, Cell Culture

DISEASE(S): Breast Cancer

SUBMITTER: Andrew Gilmore

LAB HEAD: Andrew Gilmore

PROVIDER: PXD063452 | Pride | 2025-09-04

REPOSITORIES: Pride

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			Action	DRS
	20210513_GilmoreA_JonesM_01.raw	Raw
	20210513_GilmoreA_JonesM_02.raw	Raw
	20210513_GilmoreA_JonesM_03.raw	Raw
	20210513_GilmoreA_JonesM_04.raw	Raw
	20210513_GilmoreA_JonesM_05.raw	Raw

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Project description:Vascular calcification and increased extracellular matrix (ECM) stiffness are hallmarks of vascular ageing. Sox9 (SRY-Box Transcription Factor 9) is a master regulator of chondrogenesis, also expressed in the vasculature, that has been implicated in vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) osteo-chondrogenic conversion. Here, we investigated the relationship between vascular ageing, calcification and Sox9-driven ECM regulation in VSMCs. Immunohistochemistry in human aortic samples showed that Sox9 was not spatially associated with vascular calcification but correlated with the senescence marker p16. Analysis of Sox9 expression in vitro showed it was mechanosensitive with increased expression and nuclear translocation in senescent cells and on stiff matrices. Manipulation of Sox9 via overexpression and depletion, combined with atomic force microscopy (AFM) and proteomics, revealed that Sox9 regulates ECM stiffness and organisation by orchestrating changes in collagen expression and reducing VSMC contractility, leading to the formation of an ECM that mirrored that of senescent cells. These ECM changes promoted phenotypic modulation of VSMCs whereby senescent cells plated onto ECM synthesized from cells depleted of Sox9 returned to a proliferative state, while proliferating cells on a matrix produced by Sox9 expressing cells showed reduced proliferation and increased DNA damage, reiterating features of senescent cells. Procollagen-lysine, 2-oxoglutarate 5-dioxygenase 3 (LH3) was identified as a Sox9 target, and key regulator of ECM stiffness. LH3 is packaged into extracellular vesicles (EVs) and Sox9 promoted EV secretion, leading to increased LH3 deposition within the ECM. These findings identify cellular senescence and Sox9 as a key regulators of ECM stiffness during VSMC ageing and highlight a crucial role for ECM structure and composition in regulating VSMC phenotype. We identify a positive feedback cycle whereby cellular senescence and increased ECM stiffening promote Sox9 expression which drives further ECM modifications that act to accelerate vascular stiffening and cellular senescence.

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Matrix stiffness drives alterations in aldehyde metabolism, inducing DNA damage and transformation

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