Role of B1 cells in tumor progression of mouse adenocarcinoma cells (4T1)

• Grant number: 12/10881-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2012
• End date: July 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Immunology - Applied Immunology
• Principal Investigator: José Daniel Lopes
• Grantee: Rafael Pedro Madeira da Silva Souza
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Cancer is defined as a mass of cells which disobey the cellular cycle and metabolism control mechanisms, being able to spread and invade other tissues, producing secondary tumours or metastasis. The formation of metastasis is a complex process that depends, mostly, of interactions between tumour cells and the cells from the environment where the tumor is located. The interaction between stromal cells and tumor cells suggests that the tumor isn't just a mass of malign cells but a tissue with great cellular diversity that includes resident cells like adipocytes, fibroblasts, populations of migratory haematopoietic cells: monocytes, macrophages, neutrophils, mast cells, eosinophils, B and T lymphocytes. Recent data from our group, obtained with the aim of studying the B1 cell role in different physiopathological models, showed that B1 cells, in vitro, interact physically with B16 murine melanoma cells, inducing an increase in their metastatic potential. However, the B1 cell role in the development of other tumors has not been investigated yet. So, considering that breast cancer is the most common among women and the second most common in world, this project proposes to investigate the role of B1 cells in the growing and development of 4T1 mouse mammary adenocarcinoma. For this, BALB/c wild animals and B1 cell deficient animals (BALB/c Xid) will be used to evaluate, in vitro and in vivo, the role of these cells in breast cancer progression, aiming to identify new targets for prevention and diagnosis of this type of neoplasia that, nowadays, presents high mortality rates, probably because it's often diagnosed at late stages.(AU)