Coordinate regulation of microenvironmental stimuli and role of methylation in bone metastasis from breast carcinoma

The pathogenesis of bone metastasis is unclear, and much focus in metastatic biology and therapy relays on epigenetic alterations. Since DNA-methyltransferase blockade with 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine (dAza) counteracts tumour growth, here we utilized dAza to clarify whether molecular events undergoing epigenetic control were critical for bone metastatization. In particular, we investigated the patterns of secreted-protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) and of Endothelin 1, affected by DNA methyltransferases in tumours, with the hypothesis that in bone metastasis a coordinate function of SPARC and Endothelin 1, if any occurs, was orchestrated by DNA methylation. To this purpose, we prepared a xenograft model with the clone 1833, derived from human-MDA-MB231 cells, and dAza administration slowed-down metastasis outgrowth. This seemed consequent to the reductions of SPARC and Endothelin 1 at invasive front and in the bone marrow, mostly due to loss of Twist. In the metastasis bulk Snail, partly reduced by dAza, might sustain Endothelin 1-SPARC cooperativity. Both SPARC and Endothelin 1 underwent post-translational control by miRNAs, a molecular mechanism that might explain the in vivo data. Ectopic miR29a reduced SPARC expression also under long-term dAza exposure, while Endothelin 1 down-regulation occurred in the presence of endogenous-miR98 expression. Notably, dAza effects differed depending on in vivo and in vitro conditions. In 1833 cells exposed to 30-days dAza, SPARC-protein level was practically unaffected, while Endothelin 1 induction depended on the 3′-UTR functionality. The blockade of methyltransferases leading to SPARC reduction in vivo, might represent a promising strategy to hamper early steps of the metastatic process affecting the osteogenic niche.