Abstract

Abstract : The mammary gland is made up of several epithelial cell populations including luminal, myoepithelial, stem and progenitor cells. The experiments in this proposal investigate the role of mammary epithelial cell differentiation processes during development and tumorigenesis. Using FACS, mammary epithelial cell (MEC) populations from tumors and wildtype tissue will be investigated for their outgrowth potential or tumorigenic capacity. MECs with enhanced outgrowth or tumorigenic potential will be further characterized by gene expression profiling. We are also developing new mouse models that can be used to isolate viable long-surviving cell populations. Once cell populations with slow turnover have been identified they will be characterized in vivo using real-time imaging techniques and isolated by FACS for characterization of their outgrowth capacity and gene expression profiles. We are also interested in studying how genes expressed in different mammary epithelial cell populations affect differentiation and tumorigenesis. For these experiments we are developing techniques for viral transduction and transplantation of primary MECs.

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