Tumor cell-derived periostin regulates cytokines that maintain breast cancer stem cells

Basal-like breast cancer (BLBC) is an aggressive subtype of breast cancer which is often enriched with cancer stem cells (CSC), but the underlying molecular basis for this connection remains elusive. We hypothesized that BLBC cells are able to establish a niche permissive to the maintenance of CSCs and found that tumor cell-derived periostin (POSTN), a component of the extracellular matrix, as well as a corresponding cognate receptor, integrin α_vβ₃, are highly expressed in a subset of BLBC cell lines as well as in CSC-enriched populations. Furthermore, we demonstrated that an intact periostin-integrin β3 signaling axis is required for the maintenance of breast CSCs. POSTN activates the ERK signaling pathway and regulates NF-κB-mediated transcription of key cytokines, namely IL6 and IL8, which in turn control downstream activation of STAT3. In summary, these findings suggest that BLBC cells have an innate ability to establish a microenvironmental niche supportive of CSCs. Implications: The findings reported here indicate that POSTN produced by CSCs acts to reinforce the stem cell state through the activation of integrin receptors and the production of key cytokines.