Progression and Metastasis of Mammary Carcinomas: Potential Role of the Muc1 Glycoprotein
Abstract
The carcinoma associated mucin, MUC1, is a large transmembrane glycoprotein that over-expressed on >92% of primary and metastatic breast cancers. We created a mouse that lacks a functional Muc-1 gene and demonstrated that mice developed normally. Mtag transgenic mice were bred onto the Muc-1 deficient and wild type backgrounds and tumor growth rates were compared. Mtag induced tumors grew significantly slower in Muc-1 deficient mice than in control mice. There were no differences in the rates of cellular proliferation or apoptosis in Mtag induced mammary tumors growing in Muc-1 deficient mice verses control mice. Depletion of NK cells resulted in acceleration of tumor growth rate in Muc-1 deficient animals but overall there were no consistent differences in tumor growth rate between Muc-1 deficient and wild type mice, irrespective of NK status. We demonstrated that mammary tumors induced by over-expression of the neu proto-oncogene in transgenic mice developed significantly faster in pure strain FVB mice than in Fl mice, suggesting that C57B1/6 mice may contain tumor suppresser genes that inhibit tumor development.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA360956
Entities
People
- Gerald J. Rowse