Mammary stem cells articles within Nature

Featured

• Article | 26 August 2020

  Heterotypic cell–cell communication regulates glandular stem cell multipotency

  The multipotency of basal stem cells is directly regulated by luminal cells through the secretion of TNF, and, following luminal cell ablation, the Notch, Wnt and EGFR signalling pathways reactivate basal cell multipotency.

  • Alessia Centonze
  • , Shuheng Lin
  •  & Cédric Blanpain

• Article | 30 January 2017

  Identity and dynamics of mammary stem cells during branching morphogenesis

  The formation of the branched epithelial network of the mouse mammary gland during puberty is driven by a heterogeneous population of stem cells at the terminal end buds of the epithelium.

  • Colinda L. G. J. Scheele
  • , Edouard Hannezo
  •  & Jacco van Rheenen

• Letter | 09 January 2017

  The Hippo kinases LATS1 and 2 control human breast cell fate via crosstalk with ERα

  Ablation of the large tumour suppressor kinases 1 and 2 promotes a luminal breast cell phenotype through stabilization of oestrogen receptor-α, thereby changing human breast cell fate.

  • Adrian Britschgi
  • , Stephan Duss
  •  & Mohamed Bentires-Alj

• Letter | 02 December 2015

  Barcoding reveals complex clonal dynamics of de novo transformed human mammary cells

  The first formal evidence of the shared and independent ability of basal cells and luminal pro-genitors isolated from normal human mammary tissue and transduced with a single oncogene to initiate tumorigeneses when introduced into mice.

  • Long V. Nguyen
  • , Davide Pellacani
  •  & Connie J. Eaves

• Letter | 02 September 2015

  Distinct EMT programs control normal mammary stem cells and tumour-initiating cells

  This study finds that the epithelial-to-mesenchymal (EMT) transition program, which is common to both mammary gland reconstituting stem cells and mammary tumour-initiating cells, is differentially regulated by two distinct EMT factors, Slug and Snail; the findings illustrate that although they appear similar, normal tissue stem cells and tumour-initiating cells are controlled by distinct regulatory processes.

  • Xin Ye
  • , Wai Leong Tam
  •  & Robert A. Weinberg

• Letter | 12 August 2015

  Reactivation of multipotency by oncogenic PIK3CA induces breast tumour heterogeneity

  PIK3CA mutations are associated with distinct types of human breast cancers but the cellular origin and mechanisms responsible for this heterogeneity were unclear; here, using a genetic approach in mice, PIK3CA mutations are shown to activate a genetic program directing multiple cell fates in normally lineage-restricted cell types.

  • Alexandra Van Keymeulen
  • , May Yin Lee
  •  & Cédric Blanpain

• Letter | 12 August 2015

  PIK3CA^H1047R induces multipotency and multi-lineage mammary tumours

  PIK3CA mutations are associated with distinct types of human breast cancers but the cellular origin and mechanisms responsible for this heterogeneity were unclear; here, using a genetic approach in mice, the PIK3CA^H1047R mutation is shown to induce multipotent stem-like cells and mammary tumours with different levels of malignancy depending on the cell of origin.

  • Shany Koren
  • , Linsey Reavie
  •  & Mohamed Bentires-Alj

• Letter | 19 October 2014

  Identification of multipotent mammary stem cells by protein C receptor expression

  Using transplantation and lineage-tracing strategies, protein C receptor is identified as a marker of mammary stem cells in mice, with potential implications for understanding the initiation of breast cancer.

  • Daisong Wang
  • , Cheguo Cai
  •  & Yi Arial Zeng

• Article | 26 January 2014

  In situ identification of bipotent stem cells in the mammary gland

  Through the use of a novel three-dimensional imaging technique, used in conjunction with a multicolour reporter that allows lineage tracing and cell tracking of entire mammary ducts in vivo, bipotent stem cells are shown to have a central role in both puberty and long-term maintenance; in addition, long-lived luminal progenitor cells with a prominent role in ductal expansion are identified.

  • Anne C. Rios
  • , Nai Yang Fu
  •  & Jane E. Visvader

• Article | 09 October 2011

  Distinct stem cells contribute to mammary gland development and maintenance

  • Alexandra Van Keymeulen
  • , Ana Sofia Rocha
  •  & Cédric Blanpain

• Letter | 10 June 2010

  Progesterone induces adult mammary stem cell expansion

  Reproductive history influences breast cancer risk but the cellular mechanisms are unclear. Here it is shown that ovarian hormones regulate the size of the mammary stem cell pool in mice. The size of this pool increases when progesterone levels increase during the reproductive cycle. Progesterone probably regulates stem cell numbers through a paracrine mechanism involving induction of RANKL and Wnt in luminal cells.

  • Purna A. Joshi
  • , Hartland W. Jackson
  •  & Rama Khokha

• News & Views | 09 June 2010

  Cues from steroid hormones

  The steroid hormones oestrogen and progesterone have a role in sickness and in health. In breast tissue, both roles probably work through a single mechanism: controlling the number and activity of mammary stem cells.

  • John P. Lydon

• Letter | 11 April 2010

  Control of mammary stem cell function by steroid hormone signalling

  The ovarian hormones oestrogen and progesterone increase breast cancer risk but the cellular mechanisms are unclear. Here it is shown that the size of the mammary stem cell pool in mice is regulated by steroid hormone signalling, although these cells lack the receptors for oestrogen and progesterone. The augmented pool could lead to clonal expansion of a mutated cell, possibly accounting for the increased incidence of breast cancer associated with pregnancy.

  • Marie-Liesse Asselin-Labat
  • , François Vaillant
  •  & Jane E. Visvader