Decorin suppresses bone metastasis in a breast cancer cell line

Decorin, the prototype of an expanding family of small leucine-rich proteoglycans, is involved in a number of cellular processes including matrix assembly, fibrillogenesis and the control of cell proliferation. In this study, we investigated the role of decorin in suppressing tumor aggressiveness and bone metastases. We used a metastatic breast cancer cell line, MDA-MB-231, to show that decorin causes marked growth suppression bothin vitro and in vivo. A cytomegaloviral vector containing the decorin transgene caused greatly reduced cell growth, motility and observed metastases. Bone metastases were decreased by >90% upon decorin transfection. These results demonstrate a novel role for decorin in the reduction or prevention of tumor metastases in this breast cancer model and could eventually lead to improved therapies for metastatic breast cancer.