Research Abstract

Our laboratory at the Center for Life Sciences is interested in understanding the crosstalk that operates between the epithelial and the stromal compartments within breast tumors, with particular emphasis on how these interactions influence cancer metastasis. Our recent work indicated that bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can home specifically to developing neoplasms where they integrate into the tumor stroma. Within this microenvironment, the tumor-associated MSCs initiate de novo secretion of chemokines which act on the cancer cells and promote their motility, invasion, and metastasis. Current efforts of our group aim to (1) decipher the nature of the cancer-derived systemic signals that affect the bone marrow and how such interactions mobilize MSCs and cause their recruitment to the tumor microenvironment; (2) characterize the nature of the heterotypic interactions that cause the activation of MSCs within the tumor stroma, and (3) elucidate the various mechanisms by which MSCs exert their pro-malignant functions.