RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 TGFβ-induced expression of long noncoding lincRNA Platr18 controls breast cancer axonogenesis
JF Life Science Alliance
JO Life Sci. Alliance
FD Life Science Alliance LLC
SP e202101261
DO 10.26508/lsa.202101261
VO 5
IS 2
A1 Simon Grelet
A1 Cécile Fréreux
A1 Clémence Obellianne
A1 Ken Noguchi
A1 Breege V Howley
A1 Annamarie C Dalton
A1 Philip H Howe
YR 2022
UL https://www.life-science-alliance.org/content/5/2/e202101261.abstract
AB Metastasis is the leading driver of cancer-related death. Tumor cell plasticity associated with the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT), an embryonic program also observed in carcinomas, has been proposed to explain the colonization of distant organs by the primary tumor cells. Many studies have established correlations between EMT marker expression in the primary tumor and metastasis in vivo. However, the longstanding model of EMT-transitioned cells disseminating to secondary sites is still actively debated and hybrid states are presently considered as more relevant during tumor progression and metastasis. Here, we describe an unexplored role of EMT on the tumor microenvironment by controlling tumor innervation. Using in vitro and in vivo breast tumor progression models, we demonstrate that TGFβ-mediated tumor cell EMT triggers the expression of the embryonic LincRNA Platr18 those elevated expression controls the expression of the axon guidance protein semaphorin-4F and other neuron-related molecules such as IGSF11/VSIG-3. Platr18/Sema4F axis silencing abrogates axonogenesis and attenuates metastasis. Our observations suggest that EMT-transitioned cells are also locally required in the primary tumor to support distant dissemination by promoting axonogenesis, a biological process known for its role in metastatic progression of breast cancer.