Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 30, 2025

Assessing Tumor Microenvironment of Metastasis Doorway-Mediated Vascular Permeability Associated with Cancer Cell Dissemination using Intravital Imaging and Fixed Tissue Analysis
09:42

Assessing Tumor Microenvironment of Metastasis Doorway-Mediated Vascular Permeability Associated with Cancer Cell Dissemination using Intravital Imaging and Fixed Tissue Analysis

Published on: June 26, 2019

8.9K

Endothelial Cells Potentially Participate in the Metastasis of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Yanfei Ma1,2,3, Yanghong Li2,3, Pengwei Guo2,4

  • 1Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.

Journal of Immunology Research
|March 10, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Researchers identified distinct endothelial cell subclusters in triple-negative breast cancer. Certain subclusters, EC (ATP1B3) and EC (HSPA1B), are linked to cancer metastasis, offering new insights into tumor progression.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Cell Biology
  • Cancer Research

Background:

  • Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) metastasis is difficult to inhibit due to unidentified contributing factors.
  • Understanding the tumor microenvironment is crucial for developing effective anti-metastatic strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify and characterize endothelial cell heterogeneity within the TNBC tumor microenvironment.
  • To investigate the role of specific endothelial cell subclusters in promoting cancer metastasis.

Main Methods:

  • Freshly isolated TNBC biopsy cells from consenting patients were analyzed.
  • Flow cytometry and bioinformatic analyses were employed to identify endothelial cell subclusters.
  • Gene set enrichment analysis was performed on differentially expressed genes.

Main Results:

  • Three distinct endothelial cell subclusters were identified: EC (ATP1B3), EC (HSPA1B), and EC (KRT7).
  • EC (ATP1B3) and EC (HSPA1B) subclusters demonstrated biological features associated with metastasis.
  • These subclusters showed enrichment in pathways related to fibrosarcoma and anaplastic carcinoma metastasis.

Conclusions:

  • Endothelial cell heterogeneity exists within human breast cancer.
  • Specific endothelial cell subclusters, EC (ATP1B3) and EC (HSPA1B), play a role in promoting cancer metastasis.
  • These findings provide novel insights into the mechanisms of TNBC metastasis.

More Related Videos

A Portal Vein Injection Model to Study Liver Metastasis of Breast Cancer07:35

A Portal Vein Injection Model to Study Liver Metastasis of Breast Cancer

Published on: December 26, 2016

41.6K
Lung Tumor Cell Recruitment Assay04:28

Lung Tumor Cell Recruitment Assay

Published on: February 26, 2019

5.5K

Related Concept Videos

Metastasis02:30

Metastasis

Metastasis is the spread of cancer cells from the original site to distant locations in the body. Cancer cells can spread via blood vessels (hematogenous) as well as lymph vessels in the body.
Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition
The epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition or EMT is a developmental process commonly observed in wound healing, embryogenesis, and cancer metastasis. EMT is induced by transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) or receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) ligands, which further...
5.7K
The Tumor Microenvironment02:17

The Tumor Microenvironment

Every normal cell or tissue is embedded in a complex local environment called stroma, consisting of different cell types, a basal membrane, and blood vessels. As normal cells mutate and develop into cancer cells, their local environment also changes to allow cancer progression. The tumor microenvironment (TME) consists of a complex cellular matrix of stromal cells and the developing tumor. The cross-talk between cancer cells and surrounding stromal cells is critical to disrupt normal tissue...
6.8K
Regulation of Angiogenesis and Blood Supply01:24

Regulation of Angiogenesis and Blood Supply

Rapidly dividing tumors, embryos, and wounded tissues require more oxygen than usual, lowering the oxygen concentration in the blood. At low oxygen or hypoxic conditions, an oxygen-sensitive transcription factor called the hypoxia-inducible factor 1 or HIF1 is activated. HIF1 is a dimeric protein of alpha (ɑ) and beta (β) subunits.  Under optimal oxygen conditions, HIF1β is present in the nucleus while HIF1ɑ remains in the cytosol. HIF1ɑ is hydroxylated by prolyl...
2.8K
Selectins01:25

Selectins

Cell adhesion is  an essential aspect of multicellularity. While stable cell interactions usually occur between cells of the same type, transient cell interactions occur between cells of different tissue types, such as between neutrophils and endothelial cells. Selectins are one class of cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) that bind carbohydrate ligands to form transient cell adhesion. They are rod-like proteins with a long extracellular part of variable length ending with the lectin domain,...
3.5K