The Potential of PSMA as a Vascular Target in TNBC

A. Heesch, L. Ortmanns, J. Maurer, E. Stickeler, S.E.M. Sahnoun, F.M. Mottaghy, A. Morgenroth*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Recent studies proving prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) expression on triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells and adjacent endothelial cells suggest PSMA as a promising target for therapy of until now not-targetable cancer entities. In this study, PSMA and its isoform expression were analyzed in different TNBC cells, breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs), and tumor-associated endothelial cells. PSMA expression was detected in 91% of the investigated TNBC cell lines. The PSMA splice isoforms were predominantly found in the BCSCs. Tumor-conditioned media from two TNBC cell lines, BT-20 (high full-length PSMA expression, PSMA Delta 18 expression) and Hs578T (low full-length PSMA expression, no isoform expression), showed significant pro-angiogenic effect with induction of tube formation in endothelial cells. All TNBC cell lines induced PSMA expression in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). Significant uptake of radiolabeled ligand [Ga-68]Ga-PSMA was detected in BCSC1 (4.2%), corresponding to the high PSMA expression. Moreover, hypoxic conditions increased the uptake of radiolabeled ligand [Lu-177]Lu-PSMA in MDA-MB-231 (0.4% vs. 3.4%, under hypoxia and normoxia, respectively) and MCF-10A (0.3% vs. 3.0%, under normoxia and hypoxia, respectively) significantly (p < 0.001). [Lu-177]Lu-PSMA-induced apoptosis rates were highest in BT-20 and MDA-MB-231 associated endothelial cells. Together, these findings demonstrate the potential of PSMA-targeted therapy in TNBC.
Original languageEnglish
Article number551
Number of pages18
JournalCells
Volume12
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Feb 2023

Keywords

  • triple-negative breast cancer
  • prostate-specific membrane antigen
  • angiogenesis
  • tumor-endothelial crosstalk
  • ALTERNATIVELY SPLICED VARIANTS
  • GROWTH-FACTOR EXPRESSION
  • NEGATIVE BREAST-CANCER
  • MEMBRANE ANTIGEN PSMA
  • PROSTATE-CANCER
  • PHASE-II
  • ANGIOGENESIS
  • FOLATE
  • INTERNALIZATION
  • PROLIFERATION

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