Abstract
Adipose tissue is a complex endocrine organ, with a role in obesity and cancer. Adipose tissue is generally linked to excessive body fat, and it is well known that the female breast is rich in adipose tissue. Hence, one can wonder: what is the role of adipose tissue in the breast and why is it required? Adipose tissue as an organ consists of adipocytes, an extracellular matrix (ECM) and immune cells, with a significant role in the dynamics of breast changes throughout the life span of a female breast from puberty, pregnancy, lactation and involution. In this review, we will discuss the importance of breast adipose tissue in breast development and its involvement in breast changes happening during pregnancy, lactation and involution. We will focus on understanding the biology of breast adipose tissue, with an overview on its involvement in the various steps of breast cancer development and progression. The interaction between the breast adipose tissue surrounding cancer cells and vice-versa modifies the tumor microenvironment in favor of cancer. Understanding this mutual interaction and the role of breast adipose tissue in the tumor microenvironment could potentially raise the possibility of overcoming breast adipose tissue mediated resistance to therapies and finding novel candidates to target breast cancer.
Highlights
Breast cancer (BC) is the second leading cause of cancer-associated death among women worldwide—constituting 25% of all cancers and 12% of cancer-associated deaths [1]
There are several other transcription factors affecting adipogenesis: C/EBPβ, C/EBPδ, CHOP, EBF1/2, SREBP1, Krüppel-like family of transcription factors (KLF), GATA2/3, Preadipocyte factor 1 (PREF-1), Sirtuin 1 (SIRT-1), TAZ, Wnt, FoxA2 and FoxC2, all having a role in pre-adipogenesis, and they mediate their effect by altering the expression of PPARγ and c/EBPα [92]
A study by Picon-Ruiz et al, 2016, shows that BC cells grown in coculture with immature adipocytes (ADSC differentiated to adipocyte lineage) display a cytokine profile enriched in IL-6, IL-8, CCL2 and CCL5
Summary
Breast cancer (BC) is the second leading cause of cancer-associated death among women worldwide—constituting 25% of all cancers and 12% of cancer-associated deaths [1]. The breast adipose tissue covers most of the breast from the collarbone to the underarm and around the center of the ribcage [2]. It plays a major role in the communication of all components of the breast microenvironment [3]. Breast adipose tissue plays a major role in breast development and maturation. BC typically starts in the epithelial cells surrounding the ductal and lobular tissues of the breast It develops a complex microenvironment, which involves all the surrounding cells of the breast including adipose tissue. The role of breast adipose tissue in determining the efficacy of BC treatments currently used in clinics will be discussed
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