Mammary Stem/Progenitor Cells and Cancer Susceptibility

Abstract

We proposed to define the quantitative relationship between inherited risk of developing mammary cancer and the number of MaSC under basal and hormone stimulated states in two well characterized inbred rat strains: 1) ACI, which is highly susceptible to 17 -estradiol (E2)-induced/progesterone (P)-dependent mammary cancer; and 2) Brown Norway (BN), which is highly resistant. Major findings: ACI and BN rats likely exhibit significant differences in MaSC number and/or responsiveness to hormone. Technical issues and loss of commercial source of BN rats led to revision of Aims. The data generated indicate that the susceptible ACI and resistant BN rat strains exhibit fundamental differences in their cellular response programs to E2. Whereas the mammary epithelium of the ACI proliferates in response to E2, the mammary gland of BN rats shows a slight proliferative response coupled with differentiation to secretory epithelium. We believe this difference in the cellular response to E2 stems from differences in MaSC and/or MaPC numbers or responsiveness to hormones, and that this these differences in turn explain, at least in part, the differing susceptibilities of these rat strains to E2-induced mammary cancer.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 2012
Accession Number
ADA567916

Entities

People

  • James D. Shull

Organizations

  • University of Wisconsin–Madison

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Amino Acids
  • Antibodies
  • Biomedical Research
  • Breast Cancer
  • Cells
  • Chemical Compounds
  • Chemistry
  • Coding
  • Epithelial Cells
  • Epithelium
  • Estrogens
  • Glands
  • Hormones
  • Mammary Glands
  • Neoplasms
  • Stem Cells
  • United States

Fields of Study

  • Biology

Readers

  • Immunology and Pathology
  • Oncology (Cancer Research).
  • Toxicology/Environmental Toxicology