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. Overall design: Refer to individual Series