The peroxidase PRDX1 inhibits the activated phenotype in mammary fibroblasts through regulating c-Jun N-terminal kinases

BACKGROUND: Reactive oxygen species (ROS), including hydrogen peroxide, drive differentiation of normal fibroblasts into activated fibroblasts, which can generate high amounts of hydrogen peroxide themselves, thereby increasing oxidative stress in the microenvironment. This way, activated fibroblasts can transition into cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). METHODS: Mammary fibroblasts from either female 8 weeks old PRDX1 knockout and wildtype mice or Balb/c mice were studied for characteristic protein expression using immunofluorescence and immunoblotting. Cancer-associated fibroblasts was examined by transwell migration and invasion assays. The binding of PRDX1 to JNK1 was assessed by co-immuneprecipitation and JNK regulation of CAF phenotypes was examined using the JNK inhibitor SP600125. Extracellular hydrogen peroxide levels were measured by chemiluminescence via the reaction between hypochlorite and luminol. Statistical analyses were done using Students t-test. RESULTS: We show here PRDX1 activity as an essential switch in regulating the activated phenotype as loss of PRDX1 results in the development of a CAF-like phenotype in mammary fibroblasts. We also show that PRDX1 regulates JNK kinase signaling thereby inhibiting CAF-like markers and CAF invasion. Inhibition of JNK activity reduced these behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that PRDX1 repressed the activated phenotype of fibroblasts in part through JNK inhibition which may present a novel therapeutic option for CAF-enriched cancers such as breast cancer. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12885-019-6031-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.