WISP3 (CCN6) is a secreted tumorsuppressor protein that modulates IGF signaling in inflammatory breast cancer

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is the most lethal form of locally advanced breast cancer. We have found that WISP3 is lost in 80 % of human IBC tumors and that it has growth- and angiogenesis-inhibitory func-tions in breast cancer in vitro and in vivo. WISP3 is a cysteine-rich, putatively secreted protein that belongs to the CCN family. It contains a signal peptide at the N-terminus and four highly conserved motifs. Here, for the first time, we investigate the function of WISP3 protein in relationship to its structural features. We found that WISP3 is secreted into the conditioned media and into the lumens of normal breast ducts. Once secreted, WISP3 was able to decrease, direct-ly or through induction of other molecule(s), the IGF-1–induced activation of the IGF-IR, and two of its main downstream signaling molecules, IRS1 and ERK-1/2, in SUM149 IBC cells. Furthermore, WISP3 contain-ing conditioned media decreased the growth rate of SUM149 cells. This work sheds light into the mecha-nism of WISP3 function by demonstrating that it is secreted and that, once in the extracellular media, it induces a series of molecular events that leads to modulation of IGF-IR signaling pathways and cellular growth in IBC cells