DEC1 promotes breast cancer bone metastasis through transcriptional activation of CXCR4. (PubMed, J Biomed Res)
Notably, AMD3100 (a CXCR4 antagonist) partially reversed the DEC1-OE-induced upregulation of CXCR4 and associated pro-metastatic genes...Furthermore, pharmacological inhibition of AKT (LY294002) or JAK2 (AZD1480), but not ERK (PD98059), attenuated DEC1-mediated CXCR4 upregulation, although all three inhibitors mitigated DEC1-driven migration-related gene expression. Additionally, DEC1 enhanced CXCL12 secretion from mesenchymal stromal cells and osteoblasts, amplifying the CXCR4/CXCL12 axis within the bone microenvironment. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that DEC1 promotes breast cancer (BC) bone metastasis by directly transactivating CXCR4 expression, providing a molecular basis for targeting DEC1 to prevent and treat BC bone metastasis.