Abstract

Bone metastases are a common complication of breast cancer. We have demonstrated that intermittent administration of parathyroid hormone (PTH [1-34]) reduces the incidence of bone metastases in murine models of breast cancer by acting on osteoblasts to alter the bone microenvironment. Here, we examined the role of PTH receptor (PTH1R)-mediated signaling in both osteoblasts and breast cancer cells in influencing bone metastases. In mice with impaired PTH1R signaling in osteoblasts, intermittent PTH did not reduce bone metastasis. Intermittent PTH also failed to reduce bone metastasis when expression of PTH1R was knocked down in 4T1 murine breast cancer cells by shRNA. In 4T1 breast cancer cells, PTH decreased expression of PTH-related protein (PTHrP), implicated in the vicious cycle of bone metastases. Knockdown of PTHrP in 4T1 cells significantly reduced migration towards MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts, and migration was further inhibited by treatment with intermittent PTH. Conversely, overexpression of PTHrP in 4T1 cells increased migration towards MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts and this was not inhibited by PTH. In conclusion, PTH1R expression is crucial in both osteoblasts and breast cancer cells for PTH to reduce bone metastases and in breast cancer cells this may be mediated in part by suppression of PTHrP.

View details for DOI 10.1172/jci.insight.157390

View details for PubMedID 36692956