Starting Conversations toward Inclusion.

Communal discussions on anti-racism and inclusion are crucial to addressing the history of racism in scientific communities. Unfortunately, universities are not universally implementing these conversations. We provide a blueprint for initiating and executing student-led discussions to empower young scientists to take action toward making science more welcoming and inclusive.

Immunoglobulin superfamily receptor Junctional adhesion molecule 3 (Jam3) requirement for melanophore survival and patterning during formation of zebrafish stripes.

Adhesive interactions are essential for tissue patterning and morphogenesis yet difficult to study owing to functional redundancies across genes and gene families. A useful system in which to dissect roles for cell adhesion and adhesion-dependent signaling is the pattern formed by pigment cells in skin of adult zebrafish, in which stripes represent the arrangement of neural crest derived melanophores, cells homologous to melanocytes. In a forward genetic screen for adult pattern defects, we isolated the pissarro (psr) mutant, having a variegated phenotype of spots, as well as defects in adult fin and lens. We show that psr corresponds to junctional adhesion protein 3b (jam3b) encoding a zebrafish orthologue of the two immunoglobulin-like domain receptor JAM3 (JAM-C), known for roles in adhesion and signaling in other developing tissues, and for promoting metastatic behavior of human and murine melanoma cells. We found that zebrafish jam3b is expressed post-embryonically in a variety of cells including melanophores, and that jam3b mutants have defects in melanophore survival. Jam3b supported aggregation of cells in vitro and was required autonomously by melanophores for an adherent phenotype in vivo. Genetic analyses further indicated both overlapping and non-overlapping functions with the related receptor, Immunoglobulin superfamily 11 (Igsf11) and Kit receptor tyrosine kinase. These findings suggest a model for Jam3b function in zebrafish melanophores and hint at the complexity of adhesive interactions underlying pattern formation.

Platinum Chemotherapy Induces Lymphangiogenesis in Cancerous and Healthy Tissues That Can be Prevented With Adjuvant Anti-VEGFR3 Therapy.

Chemotherapy has been used to inhibit cancer growth for decades, but emerging evidence shows it can affect the tumor stroma, unintentionally promoting cancer malignancy. After treatment of primary tumors, remaining drugs drain via lymphatics. Though all drugs interact with the lymphatics, we know little of their impact on them. Here, we show a previously unknown effect of platinums, a widely used class of chemotherapeutics, to directly induce systemic lymphangiogenesis and activation. These changes are dose-dependent, long-lasting, and occur in healthy and cancerous tissue in multiple mouse models of breast cancer. We found similar effects in human ovarian and breast cancer patients whose treatment regimens included platinums. Carboplatin treatment of healthy mice prior to mammary tumor inoculation increased cancer metastasis as compared to no pre-treatment. These platinum-induced phenomena could be blocked by VEGFR3 inhibition. These findings have implications for cancer patients receiving platinums and may support the inclusion of anti-VEGFR3 therapy into treatment regimens or differential design of treatment regimens to alter these potential effects.

Preexisting Commensal Dysbiosis Is a Host-Intrinsic Regulator of Tissue Inflammation and Tumor Cell Dissemination in Hormone Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer.

It is unknown why some patients with hormone receptor-positive (HR+) breast cancer present with more aggressive and invasive disease. Metastatic dissemination occurs early in disease and is facilitated by cross-talk between the tumor and tissue environment, suggesting that undefined host-intrinsic factors enhance early dissemination and the probability of developing metastatic disease. Here, we have identified commensal dysbiosis as a host-intrinsic factor associated with metastatic dissemination. Using a mouse model of HR+ mammary cancer, we demonstrate that a preestablished disruption of commensal homeostasis results in enhanced circulating tumor cells and subsequent dissemination to the tumor-draining lymph nodes and lungs. Commensal dysbiosis promoted early inflammation within the mammary gland that was sustained during HR+ mammary tumor progression. Furthermore, dysbiosis enhanced fibrosis and collagen deposition both systemically and locally within the tumor microenvironment and induced significant myeloid infiltration into the mammary gland and breast tumor. These effects were recapitulated both by directly targeting gut microbes using nonabsorbable antibiotics and by fecal microbiota transplantation of dysbiotic cecal contents, demonstrating the direct impact of gut dysbiosis on mammary tumor dissemination. This study identifies dysbiosis as a preexisting, host-intrinsic regulator of tissue inflammation, myeloid recruitment, fibrosis, and dissemination of tumor cells in HR+ breast cancer. SIGNIFICANCE: Identification of commensal dysbiosis as a host-intrinsic factor mediating evolution of metastatic breast cancer allows for development of interventions or diagnostic tools for patients at highest risk for developing metastatic disease.See related commentary by Ingman, p. 3539.