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Open Access 01-01-2014 | Research Paper

Relaxins enhance growth of spontaneous murine breast cancers as well as metastatic colonization of the brain

Authors: Claudia Binder, Eugenia Chuang, Christina Habla, Annalen Bleckmann, Matthias Schulz, Ross Bathgate, Almuth Einspanier

Published in: Clinical & Experimental Metastasis | Issue 1/2014

Abstract

Relaxins are known for their tissue remodeling capacity which is also a hallmark of cancer progression. However, their role in the latter context is still unclear, particularly in breast cancer. In a mouse model with spontaneously arising breast cancer due to erbB2-overexpression we show that exposure to porcine relaxin results in significantly enhanced tumour growth as compared to control animals. This is accompanied by increased serum concentrations of progesterone and estradiol as well as elevated expression of the respective receptors and the relaxin receptor RXFP1 in the tumour tissue. It is also associated with enhanced infiltration by tumour-associated macrophages which are known to promote tumour progression. Additionally, we show in an ex vivo model of metastatic brain colonization that porcine relaxin as well as human brain-specific relaxin-3 promotes invasion into the brain tissue and enhance interaction of breast cancer cells with the resident brain macrophages, the microglia. Relaxin signaling is mediated via RXFP1, since R 3/I5, a specific agonist of the relaxin-3 receptor RXFP3 in the brain, does not significantly enhance invasion. Taken together, these findings strongly support a role of relaxins in the progression of breast cancer where they foster primary tumour growth as well as metastatic colonization by direct and indirect means.

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Title: Relaxins enhance growth of spontaneous murine breast cancers as well as metastatic colonization of the brain
Authors: Claudia Binder
Eugenia Chuang
Christina Habla
Annalen Bleckmann
Matthias Schulz
Ross Bathgate
Almuth Einspanier
Publication date: 01-01-2014
Publisher: Springer Netherlands
Published in: Clinical & Experimental Metastasis / Issue 1/2014
Print ISSN: 0262-0898
Electronic ISSN: 1573-7276
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10585-013-9609-2

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