ERRα expression in bone metastases leads to an exacerbated anti-tumor immune response

Bone is the most common metastatic site for breast cancer. Although the estrogen-related receptor alpha (ERRα) has been implicated in breast cancer cell dissemination to the bone from the primary tumor, its role after tumor cell anchorage in the bone microenvironment remains elusive. Here, we reveal that ERRα inhibits the progression of bone metastases of breast cancer cells by increasing the immune activity of the bone microenvironment. Overexpression of ERRα in breast cancer bone metastases induced expression of chemokines CCL17 and CCL20 and repressed production of transforming growth factor beta 3 (TGF-β3). Subsequently, CD8+ T lymphocytes recruited to bone metastases escaped TGF-β signaling control and were endowed with exacerbated cytotoxic features, resulting in significant reduction in metastases. The clinical relevance of our findings in mice was confirmed in over 240 breast cancer patients. Thus, this study reveals that ERRα regulates immune properties in the bone microenvironment that contributes to decreasing metastatic growth.