Neuropilin-2 upregulation by stromal TGFβ1 induces lung disseminated tumor cells dormancy escape and promotes metastasis outgrowth
Metastasis is the main cause of death from solid tumors. Therefore, identifying the mechanisms that govern metastatic growth poses a major biomedical challenge. Tumor microenvironment signals regulate the fate and survival of disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) in secondary organs. However, very little is known about the role of nervous system mediators in this process. We have previously reported that neuropilin-2 (NRP2) expression in breast cancer correlates with poor prognosis. Here, we show that NRP2 positively regulates the proliferation, invasion, and survival of breast and head and neck cancer cells in vitro. NRP2 deletion in tumor cells inhibits tumor growth in vivo and decreases the number and size of lung metastases by promoting lung DTCs quiescence. NRP2 deletion upregulates dormancy and cell cycle regulators expression and promotes DTCs reprograming into quiescence. Moreover, lung fibroblasts and macrophages induce NRP2 upregulation in DTCs through the secretion of TGFβ1. NRP2 facilitates lung DTC interaction with the extracellular matrix and promotes lung DTCs activation and metastasis. Therefore, we conclude that the TGFβ1-NRP2 axis is a new key dormancy-awakening inducer that promotes DTCs proliferation and lung metastasis development.
Authors
- Paloma Bragado (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7642-1245)
- Aleix Noguera‐Castells (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7436-6513)
- Julio A. Aguirre‐Ghiso (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6694-6507)
- Gemma Fuster (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4501-2422)
- Xavier Leon-Vintró
- Jordi Alcaraz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7898-1599)
- Neus Carbó (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8208-6896)
- Minerva Iniesta‐González
- Nerea Palao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5254-7575)
- Francesc Xavier Avilés‐Jurado (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5560-8097)
- P Jauregui
- Leire Recalde‐Percaz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4844-8440)
- Núria Moragas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-8863-3947)
- María Rodrigo‐Faus (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1921-6410)
- Cristina Baquero (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-7132-1476)
- Sergio Manzano (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9603-5520)
- Pere Gascón
- Almudena Porrás (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6495-3308)
- Isabel Vilaseca (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4399-5522)
- Raquel Pelayo Alonso (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4253-6247)
- Mercedes Camacho (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5970-3294)
- Emiliano Dalla (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4687-6011)
- Álvaro Gutiérrez-Uzquiza (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0446-4131)
- Patricia Fernández-Nogueira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6786-2671)
- Anna López‐Plana (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1080-7663)
- P Linzoain-Agos
- Mateo Cueto‐Remacha
- Inés De la Guia-Lopez
Institutions
- Albert Einstein College of Medicine (US)
- Breast Cancer Research Foundation (US)
- Hospital de Sant Pau (ES)
- Hospital Clínico San Carlos (ES)
- Biogipuzkoa Health Research Institute (ES)
- Biomedical Research Networking Center in Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (ES)
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (ES)
- Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (ES)
- Universitat de Barcelona (ES)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Neoplasia
- Published
- 2025-08-22
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neo.2025.101220
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Axon Guidance and Neuronal Signaling
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.91