Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 31, 2026
10:36
Systems Biology of Metabolic Regulation by Estrogen Receptor Signaling in Breast Cancer
Published on: March 17, 2016
Copper Promotes Breast Cancer through Immunometabolic Reprogramming: A Multi-omics Mediation Analysis
Summary
Elevated plasma copper (Cu) is linked to increased breast cancer risk. This study identifies novel copper-driven immunometabolic pathways involving inflammation and metabolism, offering potential targets for breast cancer prevention.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Immunometabolism
- Environmental Health
Background:
- Elevated copper (Cu) levels are observed in breast cancer patients, but mechanisms are unclear.
- This study investigates plasma Cu's role in breast cancer risk and immunometabolic pathways.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the association between plasma copper and breast cancer risk.
- To explore the immunometabolic pathways influenced by copper in breast cancer.
Main Methods:
- Nested case-control study with 226 matched pairs.
- Quantification of plasma Cu and Zn, proteomic and metabolomic profiling.
- Structural equation modeling (SEM) and network toxicology analyses.
Main Results:
- Higher plasma Cu correlated with increased breast cancer risk (OR=1.29).
- Cu-associated proteins CCL23 and HGF linked to breast cancer and enriched in specific metabolic pathways.
- Two Cu-driven axes (Cu→CCL23→succinate/NAAG and Cu→HGF→NAAG) explained ~30% of Cu's effect on risk.
Conclusions:
- Novel Cu-driven immunometabolic pathways mediate breast cancer risk via inflammation-metabolism crosstalk.
- Identified pathways suggest potential targets for breast cancer prevention and intervention.
