Abstract 2738: Role of KLF8 for drug-resistant metastasis of breast cancer

Abstract

Abstract Metastasis and drug resistance are intertwined processes that are responsible for the vast majority of patient deaths from breast cancer. The underlying mechanisms still need to be investigated extensively. We previously demonstrated that KLF8 activates CXCR4 transcription in metastatic breast cancer. Here, we report a novel signaling mechanism that turns a localized metastasis into multiple organ metastases in response to chemotherapy. We show that KLF8 expression in breast cancer cells can be over-induced by chemotherapeutic drugs. Data from large-cohorts of patients indicates that post-chemotherapy there is a close correlation between the aberrant high levels of KLF8 and CXCR4, and this correlation is well associated with drug resistance, metastasis, and poor prognosis. To mimic this upregulation, we overexpressed KLF8 or CXCR4 in a human breast cancer cell line known to metastasize to the lungs only after i.v. injection in the nude mice. Surprisingly, we found that these KLF8 or CXCR4 overexpressing cells metastasized all over the body after orthotopically implanted. Tube formation assay, Ki67 staining, and western blotting revealed that KLF8 or CXCR4 overexpression promoted angiogenic vascular growth involving increased expression and secretion of VEGF protein. We also performed the matrigel-on-top 3-D culture to mimic the colonization step of metastasis and found that KLF8 or CXCR4 overexpression strongly enhances the formation of filopodium-like protrusions and proliferation via CXCR4 stimulation. Taken together, these results suggest that the chemo-induction of KLF8 upregulation is critical for drug resistance and systemic metastasis through enhanced tumor angiogenesis and colonization via CXCR4 over-activation. This discovery identifies the KLF8-CXCR4 signaling axis as a potentially new therapeutic target for breast cancer. Citation Format: Jie Hao, Heng Lu, Debarati Mukherjee, Aiqin Sun, Lin Yu, Jihe Zhao. Role of KLF8 for drug-resistant metastasis of breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 2738.