HER2 Signaling and Breast Cancer Stem Cells: The Bridge behind HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Aggressiveness and Therapy Refractoriness
HER2 overexpression/amplification occurs in 15–20% of breast cancers (BCs) and identifies a highly aggressive BC subtype. Recent clinical progress has increased the cure rates of limited-stage HER2-positive BC and significantly prolonged overall survival in patients with advanced disease; however, d...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2021-09-01
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| Series: | Cancers |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/13/19/4778 |
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| author | Serenella M. Pupa Francesca Ligorio Valeria Cancila Alma Franceschini Claudio Tripodo Claudio Vernieri Lorenzo Castagnoli |
| author_facet | Serenella M. Pupa Francesca Ligorio Valeria Cancila Alma Franceschini Claudio Tripodo Claudio Vernieri Lorenzo Castagnoli |
| author_sort | Serenella M. Pupa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | HER2 overexpression/amplification occurs in 15–20% of breast cancers (BCs) and identifies a highly aggressive BC subtype. Recent clinical progress has increased the cure rates of limited-stage HER2-positive BC and significantly prolonged overall survival in patients with advanced disease; however, drug resistance and tumor recurrence remain major concerns. Therefore, there is an urgent need to increase knowledge regarding HER2 biology and implement available treatments. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) represent a subset of malignant cells capable of unlimited self-renewal and differentiation and are mainly considered to contribute to tumor onset, aggressiveness, metastasis, and treatment resistance. Seminal studies have highlighted the key role of altered HER2 signaling in the maintenance/enrichment of breast CSCs (BCSCs) and elucidated its bidirectional communication with stemness-related pathways, such as the Notch and Wingless/β-catenin cascades. d16HER2, a splice variant of full-length HER2 mRNA, has been identified as one of the most oncogenic HER2 isoform significantly implicated in tumorigenesis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)/stemness and the response to targeted therapy. In addition, expression of a heterogeneous collection of HER2 truncated carboxy-terminal fragments (CTFs), collectively known as p95HER2, identifies a peculiar subgroup of HER2-positive BC with poor prognosis, with the p95HER2 variants being able to regulate CSC features. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the current evidence regarding HER2-/d16HER2-/p95HER2-positive BCSCs in the context of the signaling pathways governing their properties and describes the future prospects for targeting these components to achieve long-lasting tumor control. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:04:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2d6a88a96db843a5b08d17c54a5cbeea |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-6694 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:04:34Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cancers |
| spelling | doaj.art-2d6a88a96db843a5b08d17c54a5cbeea2023-11-22T15:52:14ZengMDPI AGCancers2072-66942021-09-011319477810.3390/cancers13194778HER2 Signaling and Breast Cancer Stem Cells: The Bridge behind HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Aggressiveness and Therapy RefractorinessSerenella M. Pupa0Francesca Ligorio1Valeria Cancila2Alma Franceschini3Claudio Tripodo4Claudio Vernieri5Lorenzo Castagnoli6Molecular Targeting Unit, Department of Research, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, AmadeoLab, Via Amadeo 42, 20133 Milan, ItalyMedical Oncology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Via Venezian 1, 20133 Milan, ItalyTumor Immunology Unit, University of Palermo, Corso Tukory 211, 90134 Palermo, ItalyMolecular Targeting Unit, Department of Research, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, AmadeoLab, Via Amadeo 42, 20133 Milan, ItalyTumor Immunology Unit, University of Palermo, Corso Tukory 211, 90134 Palermo, ItalyMedical Oncology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Via Venezian 1, 20133 Milan, ItalyMolecular Targeting Unit, Department of Research, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, AmadeoLab, Via Amadeo 42, 20133 Milan, ItalyHER2 overexpression/amplification occurs in 15–20% of breast cancers (BCs) and identifies a highly aggressive BC subtype. Recent clinical progress has increased the cure rates of limited-stage HER2-positive BC and significantly prolonged overall survival in patients with advanced disease; however, drug resistance and tumor recurrence remain major concerns. Therefore, there is an urgent need to increase knowledge regarding HER2 biology and implement available treatments. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) represent a subset of malignant cells capable of unlimited self-renewal and differentiation and are mainly considered to contribute to tumor onset, aggressiveness, metastasis, and treatment resistance. Seminal studies have highlighted the key role of altered HER2 signaling in the maintenance/enrichment of breast CSCs (BCSCs) and elucidated its bidirectional communication with stemness-related pathways, such as the Notch and Wingless/β-catenin cascades. d16HER2, a splice variant of full-length HER2 mRNA, has been identified as one of the most oncogenic HER2 isoform significantly implicated in tumorigenesis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)/stemness and the response to targeted therapy. In addition, expression of a heterogeneous collection of HER2 truncated carboxy-terminal fragments (CTFs), collectively known as p95HER2, identifies a peculiar subgroup of HER2-positive BC with poor prognosis, with the p95HER2 variants being able to regulate CSC features. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the current evidence regarding HER2-/d16HER2-/p95HER2-positive BCSCs in the context of the signaling pathways governing their properties and describes the future prospects for targeting these components to achieve long-lasting tumor control.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/13/19/4778breast cancercancer stem cellsfull-length HER2d16HER2 splice variantp95HER2stemness signaling pathways |
| spellingShingle | Serenella M. Pupa Francesca Ligorio Valeria Cancila Alma Franceschini Claudio Tripodo Claudio Vernieri Lorenzo Castagnoli HER2 Signaling and Breast Cancer Stem Cells: The Bridge behind HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Aggressiveness and Therapy Refractoriness Cancers breast cancer cancer stem cells full-length HER2 d16HER2 splice variant p95HER2 stemness signaling pathways |
| title | HER2 Signaling and Breast Cancer Stem Cells: The Bridge behind HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Aggressiveness and Therapy Refractoriness |
| title_full | HER2 Signaling and Breast Cancer Stem Cells: The Bridge behind HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Aggressiveness and Therapy Refractoriness |
| title_fullStr | HER2 Signaling and Breast Cancer Stem Cells: The Bridge behind HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Aggressiveness and Therapy Refractoriness |
| title_full_unstemmed | HER2 Signaling and Breast Cancer Stem Cells: The Bridge behind HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Aggressiveness and Therapy Refractoriness |
| title_short | HER2 Signaling and Breast Cancer Stem Cells: The Bridge behind HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Aggressiveness and Therapy Refractoriness |
| title_sort | her2 signaling and breast cancer stem cells the bridge behind her2 positive breast cancer aggressiveness and therapy refractoriness |
| topic | breast cancer cancer stem cells full-length HER2 d16HER2 splice variant p95HER2 stemness signaling pathways |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/13/19/4778 |
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