Waseda University · Medicine
Professor Jun Nakayama's research lab specializes in the molecular mechanisms underlying cancer metastasis, with a focus on organ-specific metastasis in breast cancer subtypes. The lab employs advanced in vivo models, including orthotopic and intra-circulatory transplantation, to isolate and characterize highly metastatic cancer cell lines, particularly for bone and brain metastasis. Utilizing bioluminescence imaging and transcriptomic analyses, the lab investigates early metastatic events and the tumor microenvironment's role in driving metastatic progression. Their work aims to identify subtype-specific therapeutic targets, especially in luminal and HER2-positive breast cancers.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Metastasis is a complex event in cancer progression and causes most deaths from cancer. Repeated transplantation of metastatic cancer cells derived from transplanted murine organs can be used to select the population of highly metastatic cancer cells; this method is called as in vivo selection. The in vivo selection method and highly metastatic cancer cell lines have contributed to reveal the molecular mechanisms of cancer metastasis. Here, we present an overview of the methodology for the in vi
Bone is one of the most common metastatic sites of breast cancer, and bone metastasis profoundly affects the quality of life of breast cancer patients. Bone metastasis is commonly observed among all the subtypes of breast cancer; however, its molecular mechanism has been analyzed only in triple-negative subtype of breast cancer (TNBC). To characterize the molecular mechanisms of bone metastasis of luminal breast cancer, we established a bone-metastatic model of the MCF7, luminal breast cancer ce
Metastasis signature genes in breast cancer have been studied comparing transcriptomic profiles of highly metastatic cancer cell lines established by intra-circulation injection with that of their parental cell line. However, this method is not suitable to analyze the initial steps of metastasis including invasion into local tissues and the circulatory system. To characterize the molecular mechanisms of early metastasis, we established highly metastatic MDA-MB-231 cell lines that metastasized to
HER2 is overexpressed in 25-30% of breast cancers, and approximately 30% of HER2-positive breast cancers metastasize to the brain. Although the incidence of brain metastasis in HER2-positive breast cancer is high, previous studies have been mainly based on cell lines of the triple-negative subtype, and the molecular mechanisms of brain metastasis in HER2-positive breast cancer are unclear. In the present study, we performed intracranial injection using nine HER2-positive breast cancer cell lines
Bioluminescence imaging (BLI) is useful to monitor cell movement and gene expression in live animals. However, D-luciferin has a short wavelength (560 nm) which is absorbed by tissues and the use of near-infrared (NIR) luciferin analogues enable high sensitivity in vivo BLI. The AkaLumine-AkaLuc BLI system (Aka-BLI) can detect resolution at the single-cell level; however, it has a clear hepatic background signal. Here, to enable the highly sensitive detection of bioluminescence from the surround
c-Jun expression mediates bone metastasis in luminal breast cancer by forming a vicious cycle in the bone microenvironment, which reveals potential strategies for subtype-specific bone metastasis therapy.
Gene expression analysis at the single-cell level by next-generation sequencing has revealed the existence of clonal dissemination and microheterogeneity in cancer metastasis. The current spatial analysis technologies can elucidate the heterogeneity of cell-cell interactions in situ. To reveal the regional and expressional heterogeneity in primary tumors and metastases, we performed transcriptomic analysis of microtissues dissected from a triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell line MDA-MB-231
Abstract Gene expression analysis at the single-cell level by next generation sequencing has revealed the existence of clonal dissemination and microheterogeneity in cancer metastasis. The current spatial analysis technologies can elucidate the heterogeneity of cell–cell interactions in situ . To reveal the regional and expressional heterogeneity in primary tumors and metastases, we performed transcriptomic analysis of microtissues dissected from a triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell line
The homeobox family genes are often dysregulated in various cancer types. Particularly HOXB7 amplification and overexpression correlate with poor prognosis in various cancer such as gastric, pancreatic, and lung cancers. Moreover, HOXB7 is known to contribute to cancer progression by promoting epithelial to mesenchymal transition, anticancer drug resistance, and angiogenesis. In this study, we show that HOXB7 is coamplified with ERBB2 in a subset of breast cancer patients and HOXB7 expression co
The atlas revealed early carcinogenesis events and defined the alterations of single-cell transcriptomics, cell population, and fundamental properties of biological pathways induced by smoking.
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