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Updated: Oct 25, 2025

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Published on: August 23, 2018
Adipocytes Promote Breast Cancer Cell Survival and Migration through Autophagy Activation
Dorine Bellanger1, Cléa Dziagwa1, Cyrille Guimaraes1
1Inserm UMR1069, Nutrition, Growth and Cancer, University of Tours, 37032 Tours, France.
Abstract:
White adipose tissue interacts closely with breast cancers through the secretion of soluble factors such as cytokines, growth factors or fatty acids. However, the molecular mechanisms of these interactions and their roles in cancer progression remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the role of fatty acids in the cooperation between adipocytes and breast cancer cells using a co-culture model. We report that adipocytes increase autophagy in breast cancer cells through the acidification of lysosomes, leading to cancer cell survival in nutrient-deprived conditions and to cancer cell migration. Mechanistically, the disturbance of membrane phospholipid composition with a decrease in arachidonic acid content is responsible for autophagy activation in breast cancer cells induced by adipocytes. Therefore, autophagy might be a central cellular mechanism of white adipose tissue interactions with cancer cells and thus participate in cancer progression.
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