Exosomal miR-1304-3p promotes breast cancer progression in African Americans by activating cancer-associated adipocytes

Abstract

Breast cancer displays disparities in mortality between African Americans and Caucasian Americans. However, the exact molecular mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we identify miR-1304-3p as the most upregulated microRNA in African American patients. Importantly, its expression significantly correlates with poor progression-free survival in African American patients. Ectopic expression of miR-1304 promotes tumor progression in vivo. Exosomal miR-1304-3p activates cancer-associated adipocytes that release lipids and enhance cancer cell growth. Moreover, we identify the anti-adipogenic gene GATA2 as the target of miR-1304-3p. Notably, a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) located in the miR-1304 stem-loop region shows a significant difference in frequencies of the G allele between African and Caucasian American groups, which promotes the maturation of miR-1304-3p. Therefore, our results reveal a mechanism of the disparity in breast cancer progression and suggest a potential utility of miR-1304-3p and the associated SNP as biomarkers for predicting the outcome of African American patients.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Dec 14, 2022
Source ID
10.1038/s41467-022-35305-2

Entities

People

  • Abhishek Tyagi
  • Dan Zhao
  • Fei Xing
  • Kerui Wu
  • Kounosuke Watabe
  • Martin Wabitsch
  • Ravi N Singh
  • Ravindra Deshpande
  • Sambad Sharma
  • Shih-ying Wu
  • Yin-Yuan Mo

Organizations

  • National Cancer Institute
  • United States Department of Defense

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Biology

Readers

  • Molecular Biology and Genetics
  • Oncology (Cancer Research).
  • Women's Health and Cancer Risk Research: African American Women and Pregnancy Outcomes.