Illustration (IMAGE)
Caption
Breast cancer's spread to the bone relies on interactions among tumor cells (blue); specialized bone cells that break down the bone, called osteoclasts (pink); specialized cells that rebuild bone tissue, called osteoblasts (brown); and the bone matrix. A "signaling protein" called Jagged1 sends destructive instructions that activates a group of molecules that work together, one molecule activating the next, in what's called called the "Notch signaling pathway" (green flash) in the bone cells. Notch signaling stimulates the bone degrading activity of osteoclasts, releasing tumor growth factors such as the TGF-beta protein from the bone matrix. Meanwhile, Notch signaling in bone-building osteoblasts increases the expression of another secreted protein IL-6, which feeds back to tumor cells to promote their growth, forming a "vicious cycle" in bone metastasis.
Credit
Illustration by Stephen Cheng.
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