Investigating mechanisms of alkalinization for reducing primary breast tumor invasion

The extracellular pH (pHe) of many solid tumors is acidic as a result of glycolytic metabolism and poor perfusion. Acidity promotes invasion and enhances metastatic potential. Tumor acidity can be buffered by systemic administration of an alkaline agent such as sodium bicarbonate. Tumor-bearing mice maintained on sodium bicarbonate drinking water exhibit fewer metastases and survive longer than untreated controls. We predict this effect is due to inhibition of tumor invasion. Reducing tumor invasion should result in fewer circulating tumor cells (CTCs). We report that bicarbonate-treated MDA-MB-231 tumor-bearing mice exhibited significantly lower numbers of CTCs than untreated mice (P < 0.01). Tumor pHe buffering may reduce optimal conditions for enzymes involved in tumor invasion such as cathepsins and matrix metalloproteases (MMPs). To address this, we tested the effect of transient alkalinization on cathepsin and MMP activity using enzyme activatable fluorescence agents in mice bearing MDA-MB-231 mammary xenografts. Transient alkalinization significantly reduced the fluorescent signal of protease-specific activatable agents in vivo (P ≤ 0.003). Alkalinization, however, did not affect expression of carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX). The findings suggest a possible mechanism in a live model system for breast cancer where systemic alkalinization slows the rate of invasion.