Scientific Publications
Reciprocal Interactions Between the Gut Microbiome and Mammary Tissue Mast Cells Promote Metastatic Dissemination of HR+ Breast Tumors
Cancer Immunol Res, 10(11), 13091325
Establishing commensal dysbiosis, defined as an inflammatory gut microbiome with low biodiversity, before breast tumor initiation, enhances early dissemination of hormone receptor-positive (HR+) mammary tumor cells. Here, we sought to determine whether cellular changes occurring in normal mammary tissues, before tumor initiation and in response to dysbiosis, enhanced dissemination of HR+ tumors. Commensal dysbiosis increased both the frequency and profibrogenicity of mast cells in normal, non-tumor-bearing mammary tissues, a phenotypic change that persisted after tumor implantation. Pharmacological and adoptive transfer approaches demonstrated that profibrogenic mammary tissue mast cells from dysbiotic animals were sufficient to enhance dissemination of HR+ tumor cells. Using archival HR+ patient samples, we determined that enhanced collagen levels in tumor-adjacent mammary tissue positively correlated with mast cell abundance and HR+ breast cancer recurrence. Together, these data demonstrate that mast cells programmed by commensal dysbiosis activate mammary tissue fibroblasts and orchestrate early dissemination of HR+ breast tumors.
Cancer Immunol Res, 10(11), 13091325
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