Global gene expression analysis of heterotypic interactions between cancer cells and osteoblasts in vitro

Bone is the most common site of breast cancer metastasis, and this type of metastasis is a main cause of morbidity. Because breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease, the interactions between the cancer cells and the skeletal host cells, such as osteoblasts, might be diverse. Thus far, these tumor-osteoblast interactions have not yet been well characterized using a genomic approach. We hypothesized that gene expression signatures induced by tumor-osteoblast interactions might be of clinical relevance. To examine these gene expression signatures, we established an ex vivo co-culture model with benign human cells and a panel of 5 malignant breast epithelial cells in combination with primary human osteoblasts and determined associated gene expression changes using cDNA microarrays. This SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below. Refer to individual Series