Advanced stage tumors can acquire the ability to divide uncontrollably, invade the surrounding matrix, and circulate through the bloodstream or lymphatic system to distant organs in a process known as metastasis. The brain, which is shielded from the environment by the blood brain barrier, offers an immunocompetent lodging spot for the circulating cancer cells. Therefore, it is a "popular" destination for metastasized cancers which even surpass the incidents of primary brain tumors. It is hypothesized that the disseminated cancer cells engage with the host cells of the perivascular neural niche in a poorly understood crosstalk of molecular factors, that in turn augment the metastatic colonization of cancer cells. A better understanding of this crosstalk is indispensable to apprehending the complexity of the metastasis process, and to facilitating the discovery of biomarkers that predict metastatic potential and improve patient prognosis. The larger goal of this study was to adopt a mass spectrometry-based systems biology approach to investigate the molecular mechanisms and regulatory networks that underlie the complex phenomenon of breast cancer propagation at the brain metastatic site. To achieve this, the study was divided in three sub-projects designed around the following objectives, i.e., (a) to comprehensively characterize the protein landscape of the neural niche or the brain microenvironment comprised of astrocytes, microglia and endothelial cells, (b) to explore the immunological protein networks activated in microglia cells upon stimulation with anti-inflammatory cytokines released by tumor cells in the brain, and (c) to investigate the protein-level changes elicited in HER2+ breast cancer cells when grown under conditions that simulate the brain microenvironment in-vitro. Detailed characterization of the neural niche enabled us to propose molecular mechanisms that allow for the seeding and outgrowth of metastasized cancer cells in the brain. The study further provided novel insights into the signaling networks that regulate the immune functions of the microglia and their role during cancer development. Lastly, an in-depth investigation of breast cancer cells cultured in the presence of neural niche factors revealed potential novel mechanisms of cancer cell dormancy during metastasis. Altogether, large-scale proteomics data generated in this work will help clarify the mechanisms of metastatic cancer development, and will lay the groundwork for future studies that aim at the discovery of novel biomarkers and druggable targets for the treatment of brain metastatic cancers. / Doctor of Philosophy / In the US, the incidence of breast cancer ranks only second to lung cancer, and the primary cause for almost all cancer related deaths is the development of cancer metastasis in patients. The process of metastasis involves cancer cells leaving the primary tumor, entering the bloodstream or the lymphatic system, and spreading to other parts of the body during advanced stages of the disease. The brain is a common metastatic site for cancer cells to form a secondary tumor. Previous research has found that it is the brain cells which support the progression of secondary tumors in the central nervous system by releasing protein molecules that favor the survival and growth of disseminated cancer cells. Brain cells, including endothelial cells (that form the blood vessels), astrocytes (that regulate brain development), and microglia (that are the immune cells of the brain), are the first to respond to metastasized cancer cells. A better understanding of the behavior of these cells and of their signaling molecules which support the process of cancer metastasis can help us discover new drug targets to treat cancer patients. This study had three main objectives, i.e., (a) to profile the protein make-up of brain cells and identify specific proteins that support cancer development in the brain, (b) to investigate the changes in microglial proteins when these cells are exposed to conditions that simulate cancerous growth in the brain, and (c) to explore the proteins that become active in breast cancer cells when they are subjected to conditions that simulate the brain microenvironment. To accomplish this, we used a high-throughput technology called mass spectrometry, that allows for the identification of thousands of proteins in a sample at any given time. Overall, the study provided novel insights into the biological mechanisms of secondary tumor formation, and into the early response of breast cancer cells when they encounter unfamiliar conditions in the brain. The work further supports the discovery of specific proteins that can be targeted in anti-cancer therapies.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/110766 |
| Date | 13 June 2022 |
| Creators | Ahuja, Shreya |
| Contributors | Biological Sciences, Lazar, Iulia M., Li, Liwu, Mukherjee, Konark, Kojima, Shihoko |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf, application/pdf, application/pdf, application/pdf |
| Rights | Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
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