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  • The researchers work with mice in which breast cancer is induced. (Image: Frank Brüderli, UZH)

  • The mice develop lung metastases after approximately three weeks. (Image: Frank Brüderli, UZH)

  • Researchers use cancer cells that produce luciferase – the protein that makes fireflies glow – to visualize the tumor in living mice. (Image: Frank Brüderli, UZH)

  • The luminescent substance luciferin is injected into the abdominal cavity of the mice a few minutes before the examination. (Image: Frank Brüderli, UZH)

  • The mice prepared for the analysis are taken out of the cage. (Image: Frank Brüderli, UZH)

  • The animals are anesthetized painlessly in a special box. (Image: Frank Brüderli, UZH)

  • A mixture of the narcotic gas isoflurane and oxygen is used to anesthetize the mice. (Image: Frank Brüderli, UZH)

  • The mice are placed in the measuring device. (Image: Frank Brüderli, UZH)

  • The animals breathe in the mixture of anesthetic gas and oxygen via a plastic tube over their nose during the measurement. (Image: Frank Brüderli, UZH)

  • Now the mice are ready for analysis of the cancer cells, which are visualized through the luminescent protein. (Image: Frank Brüderli, UZH)

  • After measurements, the mice are put back in their box, where they wake up within a few minutes. (Image: Frank Brüderli, UZH)

  • The researchers analyze the luminescent cancer cells on the computer. (Image: Frank Brüderli, UZH)

  • On the screen, it is easy to see where the tumor and metastases are located and how large they are. (Image: Frank Brüderli, UZH)

  • The researchers use this method to determine which immune cells prevent cancer progression. (Image: Frank Brüderli, UZH)

Harnessing the Immune System to Restrict Breast Cancer Metastasis

Maries van den Broek and her team study how breast cancer metastasizes – and how this can be prevented. The immune system plays a key role in this process. The researchers use mice with breast cancer to discover how treatments for patients with metastasized cancer can be improved.

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women. Affected women usually don’t die as a result of the tumor itself, but from metastasis, in which cancer cells break free and spread to other parts of the body. Such metastases are currently very difficult to treat.

Immune system influences breast cancer progression

The body’s own immune system plays a decisive role in breast cancer. Certain immune cells influence whether cancer cells remain dormant for years or suddenly metastasize aggressively. At the same time, the immune system also holds the key to effectively eliminate metastases. This is the case when immune cells are empowered to recognize tumor cells that so far escaped the immune response. The researchers aim to understand how immune cells can be empowered.

"Seeing" cancer cells in live mice

The group of Maries van den Broek investigates breast cancer metastasis in mice. Three weeks after inducing breast cancer, the mice develop lung metastases. Using a genetic trick, the researchers can “see” the tumors and metastasis in the live mice: The breast cancer cells are labeled with luciferase – the same protein that makes fireflies glow. The resulting bioluminescence can then be measured. The animals are anesthetized during the entire procedure. Since the mice experience slight constraints at most, the experiments' degree of severity is classed as 1.

Eliminate metastasis in the long run

The team uses mice to test how the size of the primary tumor and secondary tumors changes when individual components of the immune system are deleted or strengthened. This enables the researchers to discover which immune cells can restrict tumor progression. In a next step, the findings are validated in samples from human breast cancer patients. The project will contribute to a better understanding of breast cancer metastasis and help identifying novel therapeutic approaches.

Weiterführende Informationen

Tumor immunology research group

Prof. Dr. Maries van den Broek
Institute of Experimental Immunology
University of Zurich