SSBP1 Suppresses TGF-β-Driven Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition and Metastasis in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer by Regulating Mitochondrial Retrograde Signaling
Menée in vitro et in vivo sur des modèles de cancer du sein triplement négatif, cette étude met en évidence des mécanismes par lesquels la perte d'expression de la protéine SSBP1 favorise le processus métastatique
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a highly aggressive tumor subtype lacking effective prognostic indicators or therapeutic targets. Mitochondrial function is dysregulated frequently in cancer cells to allow for adaptation to a harsh tumor microenvironment. Targeting mitochondrial biogenesis and bioenergetics is therefore an attractive therapeutic strategy. In this study, we performed quantitative proteomic analyses in human parental and metastatic breast cancer cell lines to identify mitochondrial proteins involved in TNBC metastasis. We found that single-strand DNA-binding protein 1 (SSBP1) was downregulated in highly metastatic breast cancer cells. Moreover, SSBP1 downregulation promoted TNBC cell metastasis in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, SSBP1 loss decreased mitochondrial DNA copy number, thereby potentiating calcineurin-mediated mitochondrial retrograde signaling that induced c-Rel/p50 nuclear localization, activated transforming growth factor (TGF)-β promoter activity, and TGF-β-driven epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Low SSBP1 expression correlated with tumor progression and poor prognosis in patients. Collectively, our findings identified SSBP1 as a novel metastasis suppressor and elucidated the mechanisms by which dysregulated mitochondrial signaling contributes to metastatic potential, providing potential new prognostic indicators for patients with TNBC.