AUTHOR=He Yanling , Zhang Xinyuan , Pan Weijun , Tai Fang , Liang Li , Shi Jian 

TITLE=Interleukin-31 Receptor α Is Required for Basal-Like Breast Cancer Progression

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oncology

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2020.00816

DOI=10.3389/fonc.2020.00816

ISSN=2234-943X

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Purpose:</bold> Interleukin-31 receptor α (IL31RA) usually mediates IL-31 induced inflammation and allergic diseases. However, the functional roles of IL-31/IL31RA signaling in basal-like breast cancer (BLBC) progression remain totally unclear.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> Tumorsphere formation, transwell, and wound healing assays were used to measure the BLBC progression. We implanted tumor cells in mammary fat pad and tail vein of nude mice to detect the growth and metastasis of BLBC cells. Luciferase and ChIP assays were employed to measure the transcriptional regulation. Western blot and real-time PCR assays as well as bio-informatics analyses were conducted to observe the expression of IL31RA.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> We found that silencing of <italic>IL31RA</italic> suppresses the cancer stem cell-like properties, migration and invasion of BLBC cells <italic>in vitro</italic> as well as tumor growth and metastasis <italic>in vivo</italic>. Knockdown of <italic>IL31RA</italic> ameliorates IL-31-mediated pro-oncogenic functions. Overexpression of IL31RA in luminal breast cancer cells enhances the cancer stem cell-like properties and cell motility. Our data further identified IL31RA as a target gene of Twist/BRD4 transcription complex.</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> Overall, these data indicate that IL31RA promotes basal-like breast cancer progression and metastasis, suggesting that targeting of IL-31/IL31RA axis might be beneficial to treatment of BLBC.</p>