Fig. 12
From: Exosomes of pasteurized milk: potential pathogens of Western diseases
Dairy milk exosomes and breast cancerogenesis. Milk exosomes via transfer of miR-148a and miR-148a-mediated suppression of DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) enhances the expression of estrogen receptor-α (ERα). ERα promotes des expression of miR-21, which targets critical genes involved in PI3K-AKT signaling and cell cycle control. Exosome-derived transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) induces the expression of miR-155. miR-155 enhances the expression of FoxP3, a critical inhibitor of the tumor suppressor breast cancer 1 gene (BRCA1). Downregulation of BRCA1 further enhances the expression of miR-155, which is a pivotal inhibitor of suppressor of cytokine signaling 1 (SOCS1) finally promoting epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). Dairy milk exosomes thus contribute to BC tumorigenesis via enhancing key oncogenic components involved in the pathogenesis of BC