Number Of Mammary Stem Cells Research Articles

Aberrant activation of p53/p66Shc-mInsc axis increases asymmetric divisions and attenuates proliferation of aged mammary stem cells.

Aging is accompanied by the progressive decline in tissue regenerative capacity and functions of resident stem cells (SCs). Underlying mechanisms, however, remain unclear. Here we show that, during chronological aging, self-renewing mitoses of mammary SCs (MaSCs) are preferentially asymmetric and that their progeny divides less frequently, leading to decreased number of MaSCs and reduced regenerative potential. Underlying mechanisms are investigated in the p66Shc-/- mouse, which exhibits several features of delayed aging, including reduced involution of the mammary gland (MG). p66Shc is a mitochondrial redox sensor that activates a specific p53 transcriptional program, in which the aging-associated p44 isoform of p53 plays a pivotal role. We report here that aged p66Shc-/- MaSCs show increased symmetric divisions, increased proliferation and increased regenerative potential, to an extent reminiscent of young wild-type (WT) MaSCs. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that p66Shc, together with p53: (i) accumulates in the aged MG, (ii) sustains expression of the cellpolarity determinant mInscuteable and, concomitantly, (iii) down-regulates critical cellcycle genes (e.g.,: Cdk1 and Cyclin A). Accordingly, overexpression of p53/p44 increases asymmetric divisions and decreases proliferation of young WT MaSCs in a p66Shc-dependent manner and overexpression of mInsc restores WT-like levels of asymmetric divisions in aged p66Shc-/- MaSCs. Notably, deletion of p66Shc has negligible effects in young MaSCs and MG development. These results demonstrate that MG aging is due to aberrant activation of p66Shc, which induces p53/p44 signaling, leading to failure of symmetric divisions, decreased proliferation and reduced regenerative potential of MaSCs.

Overexpression of IGF-1 During Early Development Expands the Number of Mammary Stem Cells and Primes them for Transformation.

Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-1) has been implicated in breast cancer due to its mitogenic and anti-apoptotic effects. Despite substantial research on the role of IGF-1 in tumor progression, the relationship of IGF-1 to tissue stem cells, particularly in mammary tissue, and the resulting tumor susceptibility has not been elucidated. Previous studies with the BK5.IGF-1 transgenic (Tg) mouse model reveals that IGF-1 does not act as a classical, post-carcinogen tumor promoter in the mammary gland. Pre-pubertal Tg mammary glands display increased numbers and enlarged sizes of terminal end buds, a niche for mammary stem cells (MaSCs). Here we show that MaSCs from both wild-type (WT) and Tg mice expressed IGF-1R and that overexpression of Tg IGF-1 increased numbers of MaSCs by undergoing symmetric division, resulting in an expansion of the MaSC and luminal progenitor (LP) compartments in pre-pubertal female mice. This expansion was maintained post-pubertally and validated by mammosphere assays in vitro and transplantation assays in vivo. The addition of recombinant IGF-1 promoted, and IGF-1R downstream inhibitors decreased mammosphere formation. Single-cell transcriptomic profiles generated from 2 related platforms reveal that IGF-1 stimulated quiescent MaSCs to enter the cell cycle and increased their expression of genes involved in proliferation, plasticity, tumorigenesis, invasion, and metastasis. This study identifies a novel, pro-tumorigenic mechanism, where IGF-1 increases the number of transformation-susceptible carcinogen targets during the early stages of mammary tissue development, and "primes" their gene expression profiles for transformation.

Abstract 914: Age-associated neoplastic transformation of mammary stem cells

Abstract Incidence rate of breast cancer increases significantly with age. However, the mechanism of age-associated mammary tumorigenesis is unknown. Although mammary stem/progenitor cells have been proposed as the cells of origin for breast cancer, the mechanism remains largely elusive. Previously we discovered that in the old (28 to 30 month-old) mouse mammary gland, the luminal cells in the hyperplastic lesions elevated expression of CD49f, which is a basal cell marker. This led to an increased percentage of mammary stem cells (MaSCs) marked by CD49fhi in the old in comparison to the young (3 to 6 month-old). Similarly, old (>60 yr) human mammary ducts in the adjacent normal tissues from patients with breast cancer showed more hyperplastic lesions and CD49fhi luminal cells than young (<40 yr) tissues. Regenerated mammary glands by the old CD49fhi MaSCs through in vivo transplantation in cleared mammary fat pads showed more hyperplastic and dysplastic lesions than those regenerated by the young CD49fhi MaSCs, suggesting the old CD49fhi MaSCs contain transformed MaSCs. Moreover, gene set enrichment analysis of whole genome transcriptome data showed that they also have elevated expression of luminal cell specific genes and reduced expression of basal cell specific genes. Through large scale screening with flow cytometry guided by bioinformatics analysis, we found that Lin- CD24med CD49fhi CD13+ CD73- mammary epithelial cells had increased number of MaSCs. By comparing young (3 to 6 months old) and old Balb/C mice, we found that the frequency of this specific MaSCs was significantly increased by four folds in old mammary epithelial cells (young: 4%, old: 16%). In contrast, relative percentage of Lin- CD24med CD49fhi CD13- CD73+ cells significantly decreased (young: 46%, old: 16%) during aging while the CD13 and CD73 double positive or double negative subpopulations remained unchanged. CD13+ CD73- cells generated significantly many more mammospheres (around 40 spheres per 1,000 cells) in suspension culture than other three types of cells (around 2 spheres per 1,000 cells). However, there was no significant difference between the young and old in terms of sphere formation efficiency for any of the four subpopulations marked by CD13 and CD73. We are studying whether anyone of these four subpopulation from CD49fhi old cells will generate more hyperplastic and dysplastic lesions in regenerated glands than the other subpopulations as well as than the corresponding young subpopulation. Our study show that CD13 and CD73 may be the markers for the identification of tumor-initiating MaSCs. Citation Format: Xiang Gu, Hakim Bouamar, Kyle Pressley, LuZhe Sun. Age-associated neoplastic transformation of mammary stem cells [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 914. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-914

Mammary Stem Cell Self-Renewal Is Regulated by Slit2/Robo1 Signaling through SNAI1 and mINSC.

Tissue homeostasis requires somatic stem cell maintenance; however, mechanisms regulating this process during organogenesis are not well understood. Here, we identify asymmetrically renewing basal and luminal stem cells in the mammary end bud. We demonstrate that SLIT2/ROBO1 signaling regulates the choice between self-renewing asymmetric cell divisions (ACDs) and expansive symmetric cell divisions (SCDs) by governing Inscuteable (mInsc), a key member of the spindle orientation machinery, through the transcription factor Snail (SNAI1). Loss of SLIT2/ROBO1 signaling increases SNAI1 in the nucleus. Overexpression of SNAI1 increases mInsc expression, an effect that is inhibited by SLIT2 treatment. Increased mInsc does not change cell proliferation in the mammary gland (MG) but instead causes more basal cap cells to divide via SCD, at the expense of ACD, leading to more stem cells and larger outgrowths. Together, our studies provide insight into how the number of mammary stem cells is regulated by the extracellular cue SLIT2.

Comparison of stem/progenitor cell number and transcriptomic profile in the mammary tissue of dairy and beef breed heifers

Bovine mammary stem cells (MaSC) are a source of ductal and lobulo-alveolar tissue during the development of the mammary gland and its remodeling in repeating lactation cycles. We hypothesize that the number of MaSC, their molecular properties, and interactions with their niche may be essential in order to determine the mammogenic potential in heifers. To verify this hypothesis, we compared the number of MaSC and the transcriptomic profile in the mammary tissue of 20-month-old, non-pregnant dairy (Holstein-Friesian, HF) and beef (Limousin, LM) heifers. For the identification and quantification of putative stem/progenitor cells in mammary tissue sections, scanning cytometry was used with a combination of MaSC molecular markers: stem cell antigen-1 (Sca-1) and fibronectin type III domain containing 3B (FNDC3B) protein. Cytometric analysis revealed a significantly higher number of Sca-1posFNDC3Bpos cells in HF (2.94 ± 0.35 %) than in LM (1.72 ± 0.20 %) heifers. In HF heifers, a higher expression of intramammary hormones, growth factors, cytokines, chemokines, and transcription regulators was observed. The model of mammary microenvironment favorable for MaSC was associated with the regulation of genes involved in MaSC maintenance, self-renewal, proliferation, migration, differentiation, mammary tissue remodeling, angiogenesis, regulation of adipocyte differentiation, lipid metabolism, and steroid and insulin signaling. In conclusion, the mammogenic potential in postpubertal dairy heifers is facilitated by a higher number of MaSC and up-regulation of mammary auto- and paracrine factors representing the MaSC niche.

Abstract 3288: A chromosome engineering mouse model to identify mechanisms by which duplication of 8q24 promotes human breast cancer

Abstract The early latency and poor prognosis of human breast cancer is often associated with the gain of extra copy of 8q24 locus containing the c-Myc oncogene. Evaluation of aberrations at the 8q24 locus by high-resolution SNP array identified a 2.1 Mb region which only includes the c-Myc, Pvt1, and Gsdmc genes. Interestingly, the transgenic c-myc mouse has shown that the overexpression of c-myc alone is not sufficient to develop the mammary adenocarcinoma, suggesting that the overexpression of c-myc may not truly reflect breast cancer patients who were diagnosed with low copy-number gain of 8q24. It also implies that the Pvt1 or Gsdmc may play an important role with the c-Myc during tumor progression. However, functional analysis of this 2.1 Mb interval of 8q24 has been limited by a lack of suitable mouse models. Here, we report a novel mouse model, namely c-myc-gsdmcdp/+ (3N), containing the extra copy-number gain of 2.1 Mb interval as observed in breast cancer patients. To demonstrate the effect of the 3N gain, we have performed in vitro mammary epithelium experiments and in vivo mammary gland analyses in female virgin mice at 6 and 10 weeks of age. Interestingly, the mouse mammary epithelium with the 3N gain displays above 3 fold expression of c-Myc and Pvt-1 and significantly larger acinar structures in three-dimensional (3D) culture compared to the wild type (wt). Moreover, we found that mammary glands from 3N mice show excessive side-branching as early as 6 weeks. In 10 weeks, mammary glands from 3N mice display not only excessive side-branching but also precocious lobulo-alveolar development and contain numerous epithelial cells that are hyperproliferative as demonstrated by BrdU incorporation analysis when compared to wt. Using combined stem cell markers, the mammary stem cells (MaSCs)/progenitor cells-enriched population was expanded in mammary tissue from 3N mice, suggesting that a higher number of MaSCs deregulates a branching network between ducts and lobulo-alveolar structures similarly to other premalignant mouse models. Strikingly, further molecular mechanistic investigation shows that increased expression of c-myc and pvt1 promotes upregulation of epithelial-mesenchymal transition markers in mammary glands from 3N mice. Previous studies have reported that ∼40% of HER2+ breast cancers have a low copy-number gain of 8q24. Therefore, we crossed our 3N mice with MMTVneu transgenic mice. In these double-mutation mice, we observed accelerated malignant properties in 3D culture and migratory analyses. These results suggest that low copy number-gain of 8q24 may collaborate with Her2 oncogenic pathway to accelerate malignant transformation. Thus, our 3N mouse model establishes a new milestone in explaining how the low copy-number gain of 8q24 participates breast carcinogenesis and will be further analyzed to determine how aggressive tumor phenotypes are linked to poor clinical outcomes. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3288. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-3288

In Vivo Expansion of the Mammary Stem/ Progenitor Cell Population by Xanthosine Infusion

Mammary stem cells provide for growth and maintenance of the mammary gland and are therefore of considerable interest as determinants of productivity and efficiency of dairy animals and as targets of carcinogenesis in humans. Xanthosine treatment was previously shown to promote expansion of hepatic stem cells in vitro. The objective of this study was to determine if in vivo treatment with xanthosine can increase the mammary stem cell population. Xanthosine was infused into the right mammary glands of four female Holstein calves for 5 consecutive days. Immediately after each xanthosine treatment, calves were injected intravenously with 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU). Forty days after the final treatment, calves were euthanized and mammary tissue harvested. BrdU-label retaining epithelial cells (LREC) were detected immunohistochemically and quantified. Retention of BrdU was used as a marker for putative bovine mammary stem cells. Infusion of xanthosine into the bovine mammary gland significantly increased the number of LREC in treated glands compared to contralateral control glands (P < 0.05). LREC averaged 0.4% of epithelial cells in control glands and 0.8% in xanthosine-treated glands. The increase in LREC in xanthosine-treated glands was supported by a concomitant increase in telomerase activity (P < 0.01) and a correlation between LREC and telomerase (P < 0.05; r (2) = 0.7). Data indicate that in vivo treatment with xanthosine can be used to increase the number of mammary stem cells. This is the first demonstration of an in vivo treatment to increase the endogenous population of mammary stem cells, with utility for biomedical research and dairy management.

Evidence That an Early Pregnancy Causes a Persistent Decrease in the Number of Functional Mammary Epithelial Stem Cells—Implications for Pregnancy-Induced Protection Against Breast Cancer

A completed pregnancy at a young age reduces a woman's lifetime risk of breast cancer by up to 50%. A similar protective effect of an early pregnancy has been observed in rodent models using chemical carcinogens. However, the mechanisms responsible for this protective effect remain unclear. Stem cells have been proposed to be the cells of origin for breast cancer. We hypothesized that an early pregnancy reduces adult levels of either mammary stem cells or mammary multipotent progenitor cells. Unsorted mammary cells from adult mice that had undergone an early parity had the same mammosphere formation efficiency as cells from age-matched virgin mice. However, when we transplanted adult mammary cells in limiting dilutions into cleared fat pads of syngeneic mice, we found a significant reduction in the outgrowth potential of the cells from early parous mice compared with age-matched virgin mice. The extent of fat pad filling in successful outgrowths did not change, suggesting that although mammary stem cells in parous mice retained their functional competence, the number of mammary stem cells was reduced. Our results provide the first direct evidence that an early pregnancy has an effect on mammary stem cells.

Generation of a functional mammary gland from a single stem cell

The existence of mammary stem cells (MaSCs) has been postulated from evidence that the mammary gland can be regenerated by transplantation of epithelial fragments in mice. Interest in MaSCs has been further stimulated by their potential role in breast tumorigenesis. However, the identity and purification of MaSCs has proved elusive owing to the lack of defined markers. We isolated discrete populations of mouse mammary cells on the basis of cell-surface markers and identified a subpopulation (Lin-CD29hiCD24+) that is highly enriched for MaSCs by transplantation. Here we show that a single cell, marked with a LacZ transgene, can reconstitute a complete mammary gland in vivo. The transplanted cell contributed to both the luminal and myoepithelial lineages and generated functional lobuloalveolar units during pregnancy. The self-renewing capacity of these cells was demonstrated by serial transplantation of clonal outgrowths. In support of a potential role for MaSCs in breast cancer, the stem-cell-enriched subpopulation was expanded in premalignant mammary tissue from MMTV-wnt-1 mice and contained a higher number of MaSCs. Our data establish that single cells within the Lin-CD29hiCD24+ population are multipotent and self-renewing, properties that define them as MaSCs.