TY - JOUR
T1 - EGFR signaling promotes inflammation and cancer stem-like activity in inflammatory breast cancer
AU - Wang, Xiaoping
AU - Reyes, Monica E.
AU - Zhang, Dongwei
AU - Funakoshi, Yohei
AU - Trape, Adriana P.
AU - Gong, Yun
AU - Kogawa, Takahiro
AU - Eckhardt, Bedrich L.
AU - Masuda, Hiroko
AU - Pirman, David A.
AU - Yang, Peiying
AU - Reuben, James M.
AU - Woodward, Wendy A.
AU - Bartholomeusz, Chandra
AU - Hortobagyi, Gabriel N.
AU - Tripathy, Debu
AU - Ueno, Naoto T.
PY - 2017/9/15
Y1 - 2017/9/15
N2 - Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is the most lethal and aggressive type of breast cancer, with a strong proclivity to metastasize, and IBC-specific targeted therapies have not yet been developed. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) has emerged as an important therapeutic target in IBC. However, the mechanism behind the therapeutic effect of EGFR targeted therapy is not well defined. Here, we report that EGFR regulates the IBC cell population that expresses cancer stem-like cell (CSC) markers through COX-2, a key mediator of inflammation whose expression correlates with worse outcome in IBC. The COX-2 pathway promoted IBC cell migration and invasion and the CSC marker-bearing population in vitro, and the inhibition of this pathway reduced IBC tumor growth in vivo. Mechanistically, we identified Nodal, a member of the TGFβ superfamily, as a potential driver of COX-2-regulated invasive capacity and the CSC phenotype of IBC cells. Our data indicate that the EGFR pathway regulates the expression of COX-2, which in turn regulates the expression of Nodal and the activation of Nodal signaling. Together, our findings demonstrate a novel connection between the EGFR/COX-2/Nodal signaling axis and CSC regulation in IBC, which has potential implications for new combination approaches with EGFR targeted therapy for patients with IBC.
AB - Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is the most lethal and aggressive type of breast cancer, with a strong proclivity to metastasize, and IBC-specific targeted therapies have not yet been developed. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) has emerged as an important therapeutic target in IBC. However, the mechanism behind the therapeutic effect of EGFR targeted therapy is not well defined. Here, we report that EGFR regulates the IBC cell population that expresses cancer stem-like cell (CSC) markers through COX-2, a key mediator of inflammation whose expression correlates with worse outcome in IBC. The COX-2 pathway promoted IBC cell migration and invasion and the CSC marker-bearing population in vitro, and the inhibition of this pathway reduced IBC tumor growth in vivo. Mechanistically, we identified Nodal, a member of the TGFβ superfamily, as a potential driver of COX-2-regulated invasive capacity and the CSC phenotype of IBC cells. Our data indicate that the EGFR pathway regulates the expression of COX-2, which in turn regulates the expression of Nodal and the activation of Nodal signaling. Together, our findings demonstrate a novel connection between the EGFR/COX-2/Nodal signaling axis and CSC regulation in IBC, which has potential implications for new combination approaches with EGFR targeted therapy for patients with IBC.
KW - cancer stem-like cells
KW - COX-2
KW - EGFR
KW - inflammatory breast cancer
KW - nodal
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85042153061&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.18632/oncotarget.18958
DO - 10.18632/oncotarget.18958
M3 - Article
C2 - 28978083
AN - SCOPUS:85042153061
SN - 1949-2553
VL - 8
SP - 67904
EP - 67917
JO - Oncotarget
JF - Oncotarget
IS - 40
ER -