Stat3 is required for anchorage-independent growth and metastasis but not for mammary tumor development downstream of the ErbB-2 oncogene

The oncogenic transcription factor Stat3 is constitutively active in a high percentage of human tumors including mammary adenocarcinomas and is reported to participate in the ErbB-2 oncogene signaling. In order to assess the role of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat3) in mammary tumorigenesis downstream of ErbB-2, we generated mice expressing the activated rat ErbB-2 (neu) but lacking Stat3 in the mammary epithelium. Stat3 is apparently not required for neu-driven mammary tumorigenesis as tumors developed similarly in both Stat3-sufficient and Stat3-deficient glands. However, short hairpin RNA (shRNA)-mediated Stat3 silencing in a neu-overexpressing tumor-derived cell line completely abolished both neu-driven anchorage-independent growth and lung metastasis. Our data suggest that Stat3 might be a useful therapeutic target in breast tumors showing amplification and/or overexpression of the ErbB-2 oncogene, which normally display aggressive, metastatic behavior.