Breast cancer cells rely on environmental pyruvate to shape the metastatic niche

The extracellular matrix is a major component of the local environment-that is, the niche-that determines cell behaviour¹. During metastatic growth, cancer cells shape the extracellular matrix of the metastatic niche by hydroxylating collagen to promote their own metastatic growth^2,3. However, only particular nutrients might support the ability of cancer cells to hydroxylate collagen, because nutrients dictate which enzymatic reactions are active in cancer cells^4,5. Here we show that breast cancer cells rely on the nutrient pyruvate to drive collagen-based remodelling of the extracellular matrix in the lung metastatic niche. Specifically, we discovered that pyruvate uptake induces the production of α-ketoglutarate. This metabolite in turn activates collagen hydroxylation by increasing the activity of the enzyme collagen prolyl-4-hydroxylase (P4HA). Inhibition of pyruvate metabolism was sufficient to impair collagen hydroxylation and consequently the growth of breast-cancer-derived lung metastases in different mouse models. In summary, we provide a mechanistic understanding of the link between collagen remodelling and the nutrient environment in the metastatic niche.