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Metastasis accounts for most of cancer-related deaths. Paracrine signaling between tumor cells and the stroma induces changes in the tumor microenvironment required for metastasis. Transcription factor c-Myb was associated with breast cancer (BC) progression but its role in metastasis remains unclear. Here we show that increased c-Myb expression in BC cells inhibits spontaneous lung metastasis through impaired tumor cell extravasation. On contrary, BC cells with increased lung metastatic capacity exhibited low c-Myb levels. We identified a specific inflammatory signature, including Ccl2 chemokine, that was expressed in lung metastatic cells but was suppressed in tumor cells with higher c-Myb levels. Tumor cell-derived Ccl2 expression facilitated lung metastasis and rescued trans-endothelial migration of c-Myb overexpressing cells. Clinical data show that the identified inflammatory signature, together with a MYB expression, predicts lung metastasis relapse in BC patients. These results demonstrate that the c-Myb-regulated transcriptional program in BCs results in a blunted inflammatory response and consequently suppresses lung metastasis.

This paper describes the first experience in in situ determination of stress tensor changes during a longwall extraction. A device designed to measure deformations at the bottom of conical ended boreholes was used for the long term observation of stress changes induced by underground mining activity.

Leaching of cement based materials and dissolution of cement hydrates under biogenic acid attack result in an increase of the porosity and changes in the pore structure of the building materials. The impact of certain physicochemical concrete/mortar parameters such as cement chemistry, water/binder (w/b) ratio, porosity and fluid permeability of cementitious materials has been recognized from a material sciences perspective. In this work the durability of cement composite made with blast furnace slag exposed to sulphur oxidizing bacteria A. thiooxidans during the period of 12 months was investigated. Leaching of calcium and silicon ions, water absorbability and porosity of the slag based composite using X-ray computed tomography was evaluated.