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Poster Session 6, 4:15 PM - 5:00 PM: Room 163 [C4]

Presenter: Leah Y. Choubah

Faculty Sponsor: Stacyann Bailey

School: UMass Amherst

Research Area: Biomedical Engineering

ABSTRACT

Breast cancer is a deadly disease impacting millions of women worldwide and, when metastasized to bone, further decreases quality of life and life expectancy for patients. Osteocytes, the most abundant bone cell, respond to mechanical cues to regulate bone remodeling and control pathways that influence tumor cell invasion. However, there is limited knowledge on how mechanically stimulated osteocytes affect cancer cell behavior and metastasis. It is hypothesized that mechanical stimulation will cause osteocytes to secrete cytokines that promote cancer cell proliferation, creating a pro-metastatic environment. Breast cancer cells are also expected to alter osteocyte signaling, causing them to shift bone remodeling dynamics to support the “vicious cycle” of metastasis that causes osteolytic tumors. The major aims of this project are to: (1) evaluate the effects of mechanically stimulated osteocytes on breast cancer cell behavior and (2) determine whether breast cancer cells directly interact with osteocytes and modulate their signaling pathways. OCY-454 cells were subjected to fluid shear stress on an orbital shaker, simulating the mechanical loading that osteocytes experience physiologically. The conditioned media was used to culture PY8119 and behavior characterization was performed. CCK8 assay showed increased cancer cell proliferation, while ICC revealed morphology changes in treated OCY-454 and PY8119 cells. Ongoing work includes a direct co-culture between PY8119 and OCY-454 cells; qPCR will quantify changes in osteocyte gene expression, expecting an increase in mechanosensitive and resorptive genes. Results will provide greater understanding of interactions between osteocytes and cancer cells, informing the mechanisms behind bone metastasis.