Abstract LB178: Neoplastic Immune Mimicry is a Generalizable Phenomenon in Breast Cancer and Epithelial CD69 Enables Early Tumor Progression

Dedifferentiation programs are commonly enacted during breast cancer progression to enable novel cellular phenotypes. Increased cellular plasticity within the neoplastic compartment of tumors correlates with disease aggressiveness, often culminating in greater resistance to cytotoxic therapies or the augmented ability to metastasize to distant organs. Here we report that subpopulations of dedifferentiated neoplastic breast epithelial cells express canonical leukocyte cell surface receptor proteins and have named this unique cellular program ‘immune mimicry.” We have documented neoplastic cells engaging in immune mimicry within public human breast tumor single-cell RNA-seq datasets, histopathological breast tumor specimens, breast cancer cell lines, as well as in murine transgenic and cell line-derived mammary cancer models. Immune-mimicked neoplastic cells harbor hallmarks of dedifferentiation and appear enriched in treatment-resistant and high-grade breast tumors. We corroborated these observations in aggressive breast cancer cell lines where growth-arresting cytotoxic chemotherapies drove epithelial cells toward immune mimicry. Moreover, in subsequent proof-of-concept studies, we demonstrate that expression of the CD69 leukocyte activation marker by neoplastic cells confers a proliferative advantage that enhances early tumor growth. We conclude that neoplastic breast epithelial cells upregulating leukocyte surface receptors potentiate malignancy. Moving forward, neoplastic immune mimicry should be evaluated for prognostic utility in breast cancer to determine whether it stratifies patients with increased risks for tumor recurrence and metastasis. Eric B. Berens, Sokchea Khou, Elaine Huang, Amber Hoffman, Briana Johnson, Nell Kirchberger, Sam Sivagnanam, Nicholas Calistri, Daniel Derrick, Tiera A. Liby, Ian C. McLean, Aryn A. Alanizi, E. Shelley Hwang, Pepper Schedin, Hugo Gonzalez, Zena Werb, Laura M. Heiser, Lisa M. Coussens. Neoplastic immune mimicry is a generalizable phenomenon in breast cancer and epithelial CD69 enables early tumor progression [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2025; Part 2 (Late-Breaking, Clinical Trial, and Invited Abstracts); 2025 Apr 25-30; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2025;85(8_Suppl_2):Abstract nr LB178.