Prostate cancer produces painful osteoblastic bone metastases. Although prostate cancer cells produce numerous osteogenic factors, to date, none have been shown to mediate osteoblastic bone metastases in an in vivo model of prostate cancer. Wnts are a large family of proteins that promote bone growth. Wnt activity is antagonized by endogenous proteins including dickkopf-1 (DKK-1). We explored if prostate cancer cells mediate osteoblastic activity through Wnts using DKK-1 as a tool to modify Wnt activity. A variety of Wnt mRNAs were found to be expressed in prostate cancer cell lines and Wnt mRNA expression was increased in primary prostate cancer compared with nonneoplastic prostate tissue. In addition to expressing Wnts, PC-3 prostate cancer cells expressed the Wnt inhibitor DKK-1. To determine if DKK-1 masked Wnt-mediated osteoblastic activity in osteolytic PC-3 cells, the cells were stably transfected with DKK-1 short hairpin RNA. Decreasing DKK-1 enabled PC-3 cells to induce osteoblastic activity, including alkaline phosphatase production and mineralization, in murine bone marrow stromal cells indicating that DKK-1 blocked Wnt-mediated osteoblastic activity in PC-3 cells. Another prostate cancer cell line, C4-2B, induces mixed osteoblastic/osteolytic lesions. To determine if Wnts contribute to C4-2B's ability to induce mixed osteoblastic/osteolytic lesions, C4-2B cells were stably transfected with either empty vector or DKK-1 expression vector to block Wnt activity. The cells were then injected in the tibiae of mice and allowed to grow for 12 weeks. Blocking Wnt activity converted the C4-2B cells to a highly osteolytic tumor. Taken together, these data show that Wnts contribute to the mechanism through which prostate cancer induces osteoblastic activity. (Cancer Res 2005; 65(17): 7554-60)

Although current breast cancer treatment guidelines limit the use of HER2 blocking agents to tumors with HER2 gene amplification, recent retrospective analyses suggest that a wider group of patients may benefit from this therapy. Utilizing breast cancer cell lines, mouse xenograft models and matched human primary and metastatic tissues, we demonstrate that HER2 is selectively expressed in and regulates self-renewal of the cancer stem cell population in ER+, HER2− luminal breast cancers. Although trastuzumab had no effects on the growth of established luminal breast cancer mouse xenografts, administration after tumor inoculation blocked subsequent tumor growth. HER2 expression is increased in luminal tumors grown in mouse bone xenografts, as well as in bone metastases from breast cancer patients compared to matched primary tumors. Furthermore this increase in HER2 protein expression was not due to gene amplification but rather was mediated by RANK-ligand in the bone microenvironment. These studies suggest that the clinical efficacy of adjuvant trastuzumab may relate to the ability of this agent to target the cancer stem cell population in a process that does not require HER2 gene amplification. Furthermore these studies support a cancer stem cell model in which maximal clinical benefit is achieved when cancer stem cell targeting agents are administered in the adjuvant setting.

The most frequent site of prostate cancer metastasis is the bone. Adhesion to bone-specific factors may facilitate the selective metastasis of prostate cancer to the skeleton. Therefore, we tested whether prostate cancer bone metastasis is mediated by binding to type I collagen, the most abundant bone protein. We observed that only bone metastatic prostate cancer cells bound collagen I, whereas cells that form only visceral metastases failed to bind collagen. To confirm the relationship between collagen adhesion and bone metastatic potential, a collagen-binding variant of human LNCaP prostate cancer cells was derived through serial passage on type I collagen (LNCaP col ). Fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis showed that LNCaP col cells express increased levels of the integrin collagen I receptor A 2 B 1 compared with LNCaP cells. Antibodies to the A 2 B 1 complex inhibited LNCaP col binding to collagen, confirming that integrins mediated the attachment. Correspondingly, LNCaP col cells displayed enhanced chemotactic migration toward collagen I compared with LNCaP cells, an activity that could be blocked with A 2 B 1 antibodies. To directly test the role of A 2 B 1 -dependent collagen binding in bone metastasis, LNCaP and LNCaP col cells were injected into the tibia of nude mice. After 9 weeks, 7 of 13 (53%) mice injected with LNCaP col developed bone tumors, whereas 0 of 8 mice injected with LNCaP cells had evidence of boney lesions. LNCaP col cells were found to express increased levels of the metastasis-promoting RhoC GTPase compared with parental LNCaP. We conclude that collagen I attachment mediated by A 2 B 1 initiates motility programs through RhoC and suggest a mechanism for prostate cancer metastasis to the bone. (Cancer Res 2006; 66(17): 8648-54)

Prostate cancer (CaP) is unique among all cancers in that when it metastasizes to bone, it typically forms osteoblastic lesions (characterized by increased bone production). CaP cells produce many factors, including Wnts that are implicated in tumor-induced osteoblastic activity. In this prospectus, we describe our research on Wnt and the CaP bone phenotype. Wnts are cysteine-rich glycoproteins that mediate bone development in the embryo and promote bone production in the adult. Wnts have been shown to have autocrine tumor effects, such as enhancing proliferation and protecting against apoptosis. In addition, we have recently identified that CaP-produced Wnts act in a paracrine fashion to induce osteoblastic activity in CaP bone metastases. In addition to Wnts, CaP cells express the soluble Wnt inhibitor dickkopf-1 (DKK-1). It appears that DKK-1 production occurs early in the development of skeletal metastases, which results in masking of osteogenic Wnts, thus favoring osteolysis at the metastatic site. As metastases progress, DKK-1 expression decreases allowing for unmasking of Wnt's osteoblastic activity and ultimately resulting in osteosclerosis at the metastatic site. We believe that DKK-1 is one of the switches that transitions the CaP bone metastasis activity from osteolytic to osteoblastic. Wnt/DKK-1 activity fits a model of CaP-induced bone remodeling occurring in a continuum composed of an osteolytic phase, mediated by receptor activator of NFkB ligand (RANKL), parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHRP) and DKK-1; a transitional phase, where environmental alterations promote expression of osteoblastic factors (Wnts) and decreases osteolytic factors (i.e., DKK-1); and an osteoblastic phase, in which tumor growth-associated hypoxia results in production of vascular endothelial growth factor and endothelin-1, which have osteoblastic activity. This model suggests that targeting both osteolytic activity and osteoblastic activity will provide efficacy for therapy of CaP bone metastases.