Motori, Elisa | Kreuzaler, Peter - A 06 (TP)

Breast cancer mortality is entirely caused by metastatic spread from the primary site, and amongst all common sites of dissemination, the brain offers the worst prognosis. Furthermore, brain metastases often present with long latency. A better understanding of the events that dictate this particular tropism for better screening and intervention thus represents a significant clinical need.

​Metastatic spread from breast cancer to the brain is an established phenomenon, and tumor innervation at the secondary site is recognized as a critical event in enabling brain metastasis. However, it remains unclear what molecular and metabolic features specifically prime breast cancer cells for colonization of the brain versus other common metastatic sites such as the lung. This project tests the hypothesis that neural inputs in primary tumors drive metabolic adaptations priming cells for brain colonization - linking innervation to metastatic fitness for new prognostic markers and targets.

• Umkehrer, C. et al. Isolating live cell clones from barcoded populations using CRISPRa-inducible reporters. Nat. Biotechnol. 39, 174–178 (2021)
• Sakthivelu, V. et al. Functional synapses between neurons and small cell lung cancer. Nature 646(8087):1243-1253 (2025)
• Venkateswaran, S. V. et al. A multimodal imaging pipeline to decipher cell-specific metabolic functions and tissue microenvironment dynamics. Nat. Protoc. 20, 1678–1699 (2025)

For more information, please visit Motori Lab or Kreuzaler Lab. 

• Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC)
• CECAD
• SFB 1218

• Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC)
• CECAD
• University Hospital Cologne