Mechanisms Underlying the Very High Susceptibility of the Immature Mammary Gland to Carcinogenic Initiation

Abstract

The overall goal of this project remains to explore the toxic effects of physical and chemical carcinogens on the immature mammary gland as compared to these effects on the young adult mammary gland using a rat model. During the third grant year we have: (1) completed all comparative cytotoxicity studies showing that the immature mammary gland is more sensitive to radiation and NMU but not DMBA, (2) adapted the "Big Blue" mutagenesis assay to the mammary gland and produced preliminary data suggesting the immature gland is more susceptible to NMU mutagenesis, (3) completed a radiation carcinogenesis study and set up an NMU carcinogenesis study, (4) adapted the comet assay to primary mammary cells, and (5) identified numerous genes that are either up or down regulated in immature mammary gland. We are currently analyzing members of these libraries. We feel that these studies will help mechanistically define the epidemiological observation in women which suggests that the immature mammary gland is more susceptible to environmental carcinogens than is the adult gland.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 1999
Accession Number
ADA371200

Entities

People

  • Michael N. Gould

Organizations

  • University of Wisconsin–Madison

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Biological Factors
  • Breast Cancer
  • Carrier Proteins
  • Cell Physiological Processes
  • Cells
  • Chemistry
  • Chromosomes
  • Glands
  • Growth Factors
  • Ionizing Radiation
  • Mammary Glands
  • Mrna
  • Peptide Growth Factors
  • Peptides
  • Proteins
  • Radiation
  • Surgery

Fields of Study

  • Biology

Readers

  • Molecular Biology and Genetics