title: Breast cancer cells release factors that induced apoptosis in human bone marrow stromal cells.
abstract: Breast cancer is associated frequently with skeletal metastases, which cause significant morbidity. The main mechanism is an increase in osteoclast-mediated bone resorption. We postulated that osteoblasts could be other essential target cells and previously showed that conditioned medium (CM) of breast cancer cells (BCCs) inhibits the proliferation of osteoblast-like cells. In this study, we investigated the effects of BCC-secreted products on osteoprogenitor cells using a clonal fetal human bone marrow stromal preosteoblastic cell line (FHSO-6) that expresses alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, type I collagen (COLI), and increased osteocalcin (OC) and osteopontin under treatment with dexamethasone (Dex), 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25(OH)2D], or recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein 2 (rhBMP-2). Treatment with MCF-7 CM inhibited FHSO-6 cell survival in a dose-dependent and irreversible manner. Morphological investigation indicated that MCF-7 CM increased both apoptotic and necrotic cell number. MCF-7 CM increased caspases activity and a broad inhibitor of caspase activity (benzyloxycarbonyl-Val-Ala-Asp(OMe)-fluoromethyl ketone [z-VAD-fmk]) partly reversed the CM-induced inhibition of FHSO-6 cell survival. Western blot analyses revealed an increased bax/bcl-2 ratio in MCF-7 CM-treated FHSO-6 cells. MCF-7 cells exhibit FasLigand as membrane-bound protein and as a soluble cytokine in the CM. Deprivation of MCF-7 CM from active FasLigand by saturation with a soluble Fas molecule suppressed the induction of FHSO-6 apoptosis, whereas fibroblast CM, which did not contain FasLigand, only weakly modified FHSO-6 cell survival because of increased cell necrosis. These data indicate that FasLigand secreted by BCCs induces apoptosis and necrosis of human preosteoblastic stromal cells through caspase cascade modulated by the bax and bcl-2 protein level. The induction of apoptosis in human bone marrow stromal cells by BCCs may contribute to the inappropriately low osteoblast reaction and bone formation during tumor-induced osteolysis in bone metastases.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Endocrinology and Breast Cancer Research, Institut J. Bordet, Bruxelles, Belgium.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Fromigué
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kheddoumi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lomri
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Marie
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Body
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism*; D053148:Caspase 3; D053181:Caspase 8; D053453:Caspase 9; D020169:Caspases / Q000378:metabolism; D002470:Cell Survival; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D017077:Culture Media, Conditioned; D053222:Fas Ligand Protein; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000378:metabolism; D009336:Necrosis; D010010:Osteoclasts / Q000166:cytology*; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000378:metabolism; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D017154:Stromal Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D051028:bcl-2-Associated X Protein
chemical_list: C494826:BAX protein, human; D017077:Culture Media, Conditioned; C505661:FASLG protein, human; D053222:Fas Ligand Protein; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D051028:bcl-2-Associated X Protein; C505407:CASP3 protein, human; C505530:CASP8 protein, human; C506433:CASP9 protein, human; D053148:Caspase 3; D053181:Caspase 8; D053453:Caspase 9; D020169:Caspases