Abstract P5-12-10: A commensal’s exopolysaccharide inhibits breast cancer proliferation in vitro but promotes tumor growth in vivo
Authors: Nguyen Mai Rachel , Knight Katherine L , Osipo Clodia 
Published: March 2022

Background: Recent decades have started to realize the importance of the microbiome in cancer initiation, progression and response to therapy. Recent findings suggest that both the local and distal microbiome may influence tumor growth. Although many studies focused on the gut microbiome, the breast itself also possesses a unique microbiome which differs between healthy and breast cancer patients, and between tumor subtypes. However, it is poorly understood whether these bacteria in the gut or the breast microenvironment may interact with breast cancer cells and if that interaction alters tumor growth. Bacteria produce metabolites and other signaling molecules to alter the host’s response. We have identified and purified an exopolysaccharide (EPS) produced by the commensal bacterium Bacillus subtilis, which was shown to act directly on the host’s innate immune cells to protect against various inflammatory diseases. This study aims to investigate if, and how the bacterial product (EPS) alters proliferation and tumor growth of breast cancer cells.Methods: Cell proliferation of bulk cells was conducted on PBS or EPS treated breast cancer cells (T47D, MDA-MB-468, MDA-MB-453, HCC1428, BT549, MDA-MB-231, ZR-75-30, and MCF-7) using trypan blue exclusion and the XTT assay. Flow cytometry was used to assess apoptosis with Annexin V, and cell cycle progression with propidium iodide. Cancer stem cell survival was assessed using the mammosphere forming assay. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockout of the Toll-like-receptor 4 (TLR4) was used to assess the requirement of TLR4 signaling on EPS-mediated phenotypes. RNA-sequencing was performed on both EPS-sensitive and resistant breast cancer cell lines after treatment with PBS or EPS for 20 hours. T47D xenografts studies were performed in vivo using EPS pretreatment and continual treatment via i.p. injection.Results: EPS inhibited proliferation of some breast cancer cell lines (T47D, MDA-MB-468, MDA-MB-453, HCC1428) in a concentration dependent manner while having little effect on others (BT549, MDA-MB-231, ZR-75-30, MCF7). EPS acted via distinct mechanisms depending on the cell line, increasing apoptosis in MDA-MB-468 cells while inducing G0/G1 cell cycle arrest in T47D cells. Although EPS directly inhibited bulk cell proliferation, the cancer stem cell population of T47D cells was increased by EPS. EPS is known to require TLR4 signaling to modulate immune cells. CRISPR/Cas9 knockout of TLR4 demonstrated that it was not required for EPS-mediated inhibition of T47D breast cancer cells, suggesting a novel mechanism of action in this cell line. RNA-sequence analysis showed that EPS altered interferon signaling and cell cycle progression pathways. Interferon signaling activates the STAT family of transcription factors, and western blots confirmed that 3h of EPS treatment induced STAT1 phosphorylation and p21 accumulation, indicating that EPS activated this pathway. Contrary to in vitro proliferation data, in vivo results showed that EPS-treated cells formed significantly larger tumors compared to PBS controls (273mg vs 59mg). The slope of tumor growth was also significantly faster in the EPS-treated group. Conclusions: These findings demonstrated the multifacet of EPS’s effect on breast cancer cells. EPS inhibits the proliferation of certain breast cancer cells in vitro, possibly via activation of STAT1 and p21 signaling, but also increases survival of cancer stem cells and promotes more aggressive tumor growth in vivo. This highlights the complexity of the influence of commensal bacteria on breast cancer growth, which can be highly context-dependent. Deeper understanding of this complex interplay between the host-microbe-tumor will be vital to the development of novel bacterial strategies in the future.

Citation Format: Mai Rachel Nguyen, Katherine L Knight, Clodia Osipo. A commensal’s exopolysaccharide inhibits breast cancer proliferation in vitro but promotes tumor growth in vivo [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2021 Dec 7-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P5-12-10.