miR-9 and miR-200 Regulate PDGFRß-Mediated Endothelial Differentiation of Tumor Cells in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

D'Ippolito, Elvira; Plantamura, Ilaria; Bongiovanni, Lucia; Casalini, Patrizia; Baroni, Sara; Piovan, Claudia; Orlandi, Rosaria; Gualeni, Ambra V.; Gloghini, Annunziata; Rossini, Anna; Cresta, Sara; Tessari, Anna; De Braud, Filippo; Di Leva, Gianpiero; Tripodo, Claudio; Iorio, Marilena V.

Abstract

Organization of cancer cells into endothelial-like cell-lined structures to support neovascularization and to fuel solid tumors is a hallmark of progression and poor outcome. In triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), PDGFRß has been identified as a key player of this process and is considered a promising target for breast cancer therapy. Thus, we aimed at investigating the role of miRNAs as a therapeutic approach to inhibit PDGFRß-mediated vasculogenic properties of TNBC, focusing on miR-9 and miR-200. In MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-157 TNBC cell lines, miR-9 and miR-200 promoted and inhibited, respectively, the formation of vascular-like structures in vitro Induction of endogenous miR-9 expression, upon ligand-dependent stimulation of PDGFRß signaling, promoted significant vascular sprouting of TNBC cells, in part, by direct repression of STARD13. Conversely, ectopic expression of miR-200 inhibited this sprouting by indirectly reducing the protein levels of PDGFRß through the direct suppression of ZEB1. Notably, in vivo miR-9 inhibition or miR-200c restoration, through either the generation of MDA-MB-231-stable clones or peritumoral delivery in MDA-MB-231 xenografted mice, strongly decreased the number of vascular lacunae. Finally, IHC and immunofluorescence analyses in TNBC specimens indicated that PDGFRß expression marked tumor cells engaged in vascular lacunae. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that miR-9 and miR-200 play opposite roles in the regulation of the vasculogenic ability of TNBC, acting as facilitator and suppressor of PDGFRß, respectively. Moreover, our data support the possibility to therapeutically exploit miR-9 and miR-200 to inhibit the process of vascular lacunae formation in TNBC. Cancer Res; 76(18); 5562-72. ©2016 AACR.

Citation

D'Ippolito, E., Plantamura, I., Bongiovanni, L., Casalini, P., Baroni, S., Piovan, C., Orlandi, R., Gualeni, A. V., Gloghini, A., Rossini, A., Cresta, S., Tessari, A., De Braud, F., Di Leva, G., Tripodo, C., & Iorio, M. V. (2016). miR-9 and miR-200 Regulate PDGFRß-Mediated Endothelial Differentiation of Tumor Cells in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer. Cancer research, 76(18), 5562 - 5572. https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-16-0140

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 6, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Sep 15, 2016
• Publication Date: Sep 1, 2016
• Journal: Cancer Research
• Print ISSN: 1538-7445
• Publisher: American Association for Cancer Research
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 76
• Issue: 18
• Pages: 5562 - 5572
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-16-0140
• Keywords: Animals, Blotting, Western, Cell Differentiation, Endothelial Cells, Female, Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Gene Expression, Regulation, Neoplastic, Gene Knockdown Techniques, Heterografts, Humans, Immunohistochemistry, In Situ Hybridization, Mice, Mice, SCID, MicroRNAs, Neovascularization, Pathologic, Polymerase Chain Reaction, Receptor, Platelet-Derived Growth Factor beta, Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms
• Public URL: https://keele-repository.worktribe.com/output/413378
• Publisher URL: http://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-16-0140