Obesity Induces Temporally Regulated Alterations in the Extracellular Matrix That Drive Breast Tumor Invasion and Metastasis.

Obesity is associated with increased incidence and metastasis of triple-negative breast cancer, an aggressive breast cancer subtype. The extracellular matrix (ECM) is a major component of the tumor microenvironment that drives metastasis. To characterize the temporal effects of age and high-fat diet (HFD)-driven weight gain on the ECM, we injected allograft tumor cells at 4-week intervals into mammary fat pads of mice fed a control or HFD, assessing tumor growth and metastasis and evaluating the ECM composition of the mammary fat pads, lungs, and livers. Tumor growth was increased in obese mice after 12 weeks on HFD. Liver metastasis increased in obese mice only at 4 weeks, and elevated body weight correlated with increased metastasis to the lungs but not the liver. Whole decellularized ECM coupled with proteomics indicated that early stages of obesity were sufficient to induce changes in the ECM composition. Obesity led to an increased abundance of the proinvasive ECM proteins collagen IV and collagen VI in the mammary glands and enhanced the invasive capacity of cancer cells. Cells of stromal vascular fraction and adipose stem and progenitor cells were primarily responsible for secreting collagen IV and collagen VI, not adipocytes. Longer exposure to HFD increased the invasive potential of ECM isolated from the lungs and liver, with significant changes in ECM composition found in the liver with short-term HFD exposure. Together, these data suggest that changes in the breast, lungs, and liver ECM underlie some of the effects of obesity on triple-negative breast cancer incidence and metastasis. Significance: Organ-specific extracellular matrix changes in the primary tumor and metastatic microenvironment are mechanisms by which obesity contributes to breast cancer progression.

Age and obesity-driven changes in the extracellular matrix of the primary tumor and metastatic site influence tumor invasion and metastatic outgrowth.

Younger age and obesity increase the incidence and metastasis of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), an aggressive subtype of breast cancer. The extracellular matrix (ECM) promotes tumor invasion and metastasis. We characterized the effect of age and obesity on the ECM of mammary fat pads, lungs, and liver using a diet-induced obesity (DIO) model. At 4 week intervals, we either injected the mammary fat pads with allograft tumor cells to characterize tumor growth and metastasis or isolated the mammary fat pads and livers to characterize the ECM. Age had no effect on tumor growth but increased lung and liver metastasis after 16 weeks. Obesity increased tumor growth starting at 12 weeks, increased liver metastasis only at 4 weeks, and weight gain correlated to increased lung but not liver metastasis. Utilizing whole decellularized ECM coupled with proteomics, we found that early stages of obesity were sufficient to induce changes in the ECM composition and invasive potential of mammary fat pads with increased abundance of pro-invasive ECM proteins Collagen IV and Collagen VI. We identified cells of stromal vascular fraction and adipose stem and progenitor cells as primarily responsible for secreting Collagen IV and VI, not adipocytes. We characterized the changes in ECM in the lungs and liver, and determined that older age decreases the metastatic potential of lung and liver ECM while later-stage obesity increases the metastatic potential. These data implicate ECM changes in the primary tumor and metastatic microenvironment as mechanisms by which age and obesity contribute to breast cancer progression.