Emerging evidence has indicated the aberrant expression of PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) in human cancer cells to regulate tumor development and progression by governing cancer cell stemness. Herein, we identified downregulation of piR-2158 in human breast cancer tumors, especially in ALDH+ breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs) from patients and cell lines, which was further validated in two types of genetically engineered mouse models of breast cancer (MMTV-Wnt and MMTV-PyMT). Enforced overexpression of piR-2158 in basal-like or luminal subtypes of breast cancer cells suppressed cell proliferation, migration, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and stemness . Administration of a dual mammary tumor-targeting pi... More
Emerging evidence has indicated the aberrant expression of PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) in human cancer cells to regulate tumor development and progression by governing cancer cell stemness. Herein, we identified downregulation of piR-2158 in human breast cancer tumors, especially in ALDH+ breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs) from patients and cell lines, which was further validated in two types of genetically engineered mouse models of breast cancer (MMTV-Wnt and MMTV-PyMT). Enforced overexpression of piR-2158 in basal-like or luminal subtypes of breast cancer cells suppressed cell proliferation, migration, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and stemness . Administration of a dual mammary tumor-targeting piRNA delivery system in mice reduced tumor growth . RNA-seq, ChIP-seq and luciferase reporter assays demonstrated piR-2158 as a transcriptional repressor of by competing with AP-1 transcription factor subunit FOSL1 to bind the promoter of . STAT3 signaling mediated piR-2158-IL11 regulation of cancer cell stemness and tumor growth. Moreover, by co-culturing of MDA-MB-231 and HUVECs and CD31 staining of tumor endothelial cells we demonstrated inhibition of angiogenesis by piR-2158-IL11 in breast cancer. In conclusion, the current study not only reveals a novel mechanism through which piR-2158 inhibits mammary gland tumorigenesis regulating cancer stem cells and tumor angiogenesis, but also provides a novel therapeutic strategy in treatment of breast cancer.
