Investigating Osteogenic Differentiation in Triple Negative Breast Cancer Cells

Authors: Nezeeh Kaakour, Xiang Fang, Ryan Pierson, Dr. "Frank" Fake Lu

Field of Study: Biomedical Engineering

Program Affiliation: Undergraduate Research Award, Biophotonics and Translational Optical Imaging Lab

Faculty Mentors: "Frank" Fake Lu

Easel: 74

Timeslot: Midday

Abstract: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a highly aggressive breast cancer subtype characterized by the absence of estrogen, progesterone, and HER2 receptors, which limits the effectiveness of targeted therapies and results in poor clinical outcomes. Emerging evidence suggests that some TNBC tumors undergo ossification, forming bone–like mineral deposits within the tumor microenvironment. Previous studies have demonstrated that MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells can undergo osteogenic-like calcification through the introduction of an osteogenic induction cocktail of dexamethasone, ascorbic acid, and ß-glycerophosphate (Fushimi et al. 2020). The biological mechanisms underlying this phenomenon remain poorly understood, yet they may represent a novel therapeutic opportunity to induce differentiation and reduce tumor aggressiveness. Through alkaline phosphatase and alizarin red staining, as well as stimulated Raman scattering microscopy, this project aims to investigate the process of ossification in TNBC cells and develop advanced imaging approaches to study mineralization dynamics in real time.