Pro-inflammatory megakaryocyte gene expression in murine models of breast cancer

Authors: Harvey G. Roweth, Michael W. Malloy, Gregory J. Goreczny, Isabelle C. Becker, Qiuchen Guo, Elizabeth A. Mittendorf, Joseph E. Italiano, Sandra S. McAllister, Elisabeth M. Battinelli

Published: 2022-10-12

DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abo5224

Source: Full article


Abstract

Despite abundant research demonstrating that platelets can promote tumor cell metastasis, whether primary tumors affect platelet-producing megakaryocytes remains understudied. In this study, we used a spontaneous murine model of breast cancer to show that tumor burden reduced megakaryocyte number and size and disrupted polyploidization. Single-cell RNA sequencing demonstrated that megakaryocytes from tumor-bearing mice exhibit a pro-inflammatory phenotype, epitomized by increased