Increased prevalence of hybrid epithelial/mesenchymal state and enhanced phenotypic heterogeneity in basal breast cancer

Summary

Intra-tumoral phenotypic heterogeneity promotes tumor relapse and therapeutic resistance and remains an unsolved clinical challenge. Decoding the interconnections among different biological axes of plasticity is crucial to understand the molecular origins of phenotypic heterogeneity. Here, we use multi-modal transcriptomic data—bulk, single-cell, and spatial transcriptomics—from breast cancer cell lines and primary tumor samples, to identify associations between epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and luminal-basal plasticity—two key processes that enable heterogeneity. We show that luminal breast cancer strongly associates with an epithelial cell state, but basal breast cancer is associated with hybrid epithelial/mesenchymal phenotype(s) and higher phenotypic heterogeneity. Mathematical modeling of core underlying gene regulatory networks representative of the crosstalk between the luminal-basal and epithelial-mesenchymal axes elucidate mechanistic underpinnings of the observed associations from transcriptomic data. Our systems-based approach integrating multi-modal data analysis with mechanism-based modeling offers a predictive framework to characterize intra-tumor heterogeneity and identify interventions to restrict it.

Graphical abstract

Highlights

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  Luminal signature is closely associated with epithelial signature in breast cancer

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  Basal signature correlates well with a hybrid epithelial-mesenchymal signature

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  Basal breast cancer exhibits higher epithelial-mesenchymal heterogeneity patterns

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  Mathematical modeling of underlying gene networks explains observed heterogeneity

Abstract

Gene network; Molecular network; Mathematical biosciences; Cancer systems biology; Cancer