2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Analysis of mechanisms of breast cancer stem cells using mammary tumor model mice
| Project/Area Number |
15K21438
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
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| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
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| Research Field |
General medical chemistry
Pathological medical chemistry
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| Research Institution | The University of Tokyo |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Project Period (FY) |
2015-04-01 – 2017-03-31
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| Keywords | 乳癌 / 癌悪性化 / 癌幹細胞 / 上皮間葉転換 |
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease classified into two biological subtypes. Basal-like subtype breast cancer, which is ER-, PR-, ERBB2- (TNBC) phenotype, shows higher malignancy than luminal type, and exhibits poor prognoses against various methods of therapy. In this study, we focused on the cancer stem cells (CSC), a malignant sub-population in the tumor. Using activated Ras and p53 knockout mammary epithelial cells, we found that a portion of cancer cells undergo epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), one of mechanism of CSC generation. Therefore, we analyzed the mechanism of EMT and MET and demonstrate that the two populations significantly enhance the transition of cells from the other population to their own. We also demonstrate that primary breast cancer cells underwent EMT. Further studies to elucidate the molecular mechanisms governing the dynamic EMT and MET observed in breast cancer cells must be pursued to develop effective therapeutic strategies against TNBC.
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| Free Research Field |
分子腫瘍学
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