Beige Adipocytes Promote Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cell Migration and Malignancy Through BMP4 Signaling
Journal
The FASEB Journal
Journal Volume
39
Journal Issue
9
Start Page
e70557
ISSN
0892-6638
1530-6860
Date Issued
2025-05-15
Author(s)
Abstract
Breast cancer remains a leading cause of cancer-related mortality among women, with adipocyte–breast cancer interactions playing a critical role in cancer progression. Mammary gland fat contains both white and brown-like adipocytes. While white adipocytes have been associated with aggressive tumor behavior, the impact of brown-like adipocytes on cancer progression remains largely unclear. This study investigated the roles of beige (UCP1high) and white (UCP1low) adipocytes derived from human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells within the tumor microenvironment. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) MDA-MB-231 cells exhibited increased migration and invasion when exposed to white (hWCM) or beige (hBCM) adipocyte-conditioned medium, with a more pronounced effect observed with hBCM. Mechanistically, beige adipocytes secreted significantly higher levels of bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) compared to white adipocytes, which enhanced TNBC cell migration. Inhibition of BMP signaling with Noggin effectively reduced the migration and malignancy of MDA-MB-231 cells induced by hBCM, underscoring the pivotal role of BMP4 in breast cancer progression.
Subjects
beige adipocyte
BMP4
breast cancer
TNBC
tumor microenvironment
SDGs
Publisher
Wiley
Type
journal article