Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Feb 16, 2026 1 hour, 29 minutes ago
Medical News: A team of Italian researchers has uncovered new evidence that a protein called clusterin may play a powerful role in helping aggressive breast cancer cells spread to other parts of the body. Their findings shed fresh light on why some breast cancers are far more dangerous than others and may open the door to more targeted treatments in the future.
Clusterin helps aggressive breast cancer cells move and invade surrounding tissues by reshaping their internal
skeleton and activating pro metastatic signals
The study was led by scientists from the Laboratory of Biochemistry Molecular Biology and Oncometabolism, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma; the Histology and Embryology Laboratory, University of Parma; the Proteomics Group of Ri.MED Foundation, IRCCS ISMETT in Palermo; the Department of Biological Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Palermo; the National Institute of Biostructure and Biosystems in Rome; and the COMT Center for Molecular and Translational Oncology in Parma.
Understanding Why Some Breast Cancers Spread Faster
Breast cancer is not a single disease. Some types grow slowly and respond well to hormone therapy, while others are highly aggressive and difficult to treat. One particularly dangerous form is triple negative breast cancer, which does not respond to common hormone- based treatments.
In this
Medical News report, researchers focused on a protein called clusterin, which is found in many body fluids and tissues and is often increased in cancer. Although previous studies showed clusterin levels are higher in breast tumors and even higher in metastatic tissue, its exact role in helping cancer spread remained unclear.
To investigate, the team studied two well-known breast cancer cell lines. One represented a less aggressive, hormone responsive type. The other represented a highly aggressive triple negative type known for strong invasive behavior.
Silencing Clusterin Changes Cancer Cell Behavior
The researchers used a technique called siRNA to “silence” or switch off the clusterin gene in both cell types. Importantly, turning off clusterin did not reduce overall cell survival. The cancer cells were still alive and growing.
However, in the aggressive triple negative cells, something striking happened. Their ability to migrate and invade was significantly reduced. Migration dropped by about 21 percent, while invasion through a simulated tissue barrier dropped by roughly 50 percent. In contrast, the less aggressive cells showed little to no change.
This suggests that clusterin plays a crucial role specifically in highly aggressive breast cancer cells.
How Clusterin Helps Cancer Cells Move
To spread, cancer cells must change shape, move, and break through surrounding tissue. These actions depend on the cell’s internal skeleton, made of actin fibers and microtubules.
When c
lusterin was silenced in aggressive cells, the researchers observed a clear loss of actin rich protrusions and stress fibers. The internal skeleton became disorganized, and the cells appeared more elongated and less structured. This physical change made it harder for them to move effectively.
At the molecular level, clusterin silencing reduced the activity of RhoA, a protein that controls actin organization. It also lowered activation of Akt and NF kappa B, two major signaling pathways linked to cancer progression. In addition, important genes involved in breaking down surrounding tissue, including MMP9, COL1A1, and COL4A1, were significantly reduced.
Proteomic analysis identified over a thousand proteins, with key changes in proteins involved in focal adhesion and extracellular matrix interactions. These results strongly support clusterin as an upstream regulator of cell movement machinery.
Conclusions
The findings clearly demonstrate that clusterin acts as a promoter of migration and invasion in highly aggressive triple negative breast cancer cells but not in less aggressive forms. By controlling cytoskeletal organization, signaling pathways, and tissue remodeling genes, clusterin appears to function as a central driver of metastatic behavior. These insights highlight the importance of patient stratification and suggest that targeting clusterin may benefit specific subgroups of breast cancer patients rather than all cases.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed International Journal of Molecular Sciences.
https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/4/1721
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