scholarly journals Effect of glycogen synthase kinase-3 inactivation on mouse mammary gland development and oncogenesis

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna Dembowy ◽  
Hibret A Adissu ◽  
Jeff C Liu ◽  
Eldad Zacksenhaus ◽  
James Robert Woodgett

Many components of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway have critical functions in mammary gland development and tumor formation, yet the contribution of glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3α and GSK-3β) to mammopoiesis and oncogenesis is unclear. Here, we report that WAP-Cre-mediated deletion of GSK-3 in the mammary epithelium results in activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling and induces mammary intraepithelial neoplasia that progresses to squamous transdifferentiation and development of adenosquamous carcinomas at 6 months. To uncover possible β-catenin-independent activities of GSK-3, we generated mammary-specific knock-outs of GSK-3 and β-catenin. Squamous transdifferentiation of the mammary epithelium was largely attenuated, however mammary epithelial cells lost the ability to form mammospheres suggesting perturbation of stem cell properties unrelated to loss of β-catenin alone. At 10 months, adenocarcinomas that developed in glands lacking GSK-3 and β-catenin displayed elevated levels of γ-catenin/plakoglobin as well as activation of the Hedgehog and Notch pathways. Collectively these results establish the two isoforms of GSK-3 as essential integrators of multiple developmental signals that act to maintain normal mammary gland function and suppress tumorigenesis.

Oncogene ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 34 (27) ◽  
pp. 3514-3526 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Dembowy ◽  
H A Adissu ◽  
J C Liu ◽  
E Zacksenhaus ◽  
J R Woodgett

2000 ◽  
Vol 113 (12) ◽  
pp. 2129-2138 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Naylor ◽  
M.J. Smalley ◽  
D. Robertson ◽  
B.A. Gusterson ◽  
P.A. Edwards ◽  
...  

Several Wnt genes are expressed in the postnatal mouse mammary gland and are thought to be involved in mammary gland development. Ectopic expression of Wnt-1, which is not normally expressed in the mammary gland, drives the formation of a pre-neoplastic hyperplasia. Cell culture-based assays have shown that Wnt-1 and some mammary-expressed Wnts transform C57MG cells. This has led to the suggestion that Wnt-1 functions as an oncogene through the inappropriate activation of developmental events that are normally controlled by the ‘transforming’ class of Wnts. In this study, Wnt-7b was expressed in vivo using recombinant retroviruses. Wnt-7b did not alter normal mammary gland development despite having similar effects to Wnt-1 in cell culture. We conclude that the in vitro classification of Wnts as ‘transforming’ does not correlate with the transformation in vivo. To facilitate the analysis of Wnt-expression, a lacZ-containing, bicistronic recombinant retrovirus was developed. Immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy identified retrovirally transduced myoepithelial and luminal epithelial cells in normal and hyperplastic tissues. The distribution of transduced cells in mammary outgrowths was consistent with current models of mammary stem cell identity.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Parisa Rabieifar ◽  
Ting Zhuang ◽  
Tânia D. F. Costa ◽  
Miao Zhao ◽  
Staffan Strömblad

Abstract p21-activated kinases (PAKs) are serine/threonine kinases functioning as downstream effectors of the small GTPases Rac1 and Cdc42. Members of the PAK family are overexpressed in human breast cancer, but their role in mammary gland development is not fully explored. Here we examined the functional role of PAK4 in mammary gland development by creating a mouse model of MMTV-Cre driven conditional PAK4 gene depletion in the mammary gland. The PAK4 conditional knock-out mice were born healthy, with no observed developmental deficits. Mammary gland whole-mounts revealed no defects in ductal formation or elongation of the mammary tree through the fat pad. PAK4 gene depletion also did not alter proliferation and invasion of the mammary epithelium in young virgin mice. Moreover, adult mice gave birth to healthy pups with normal body weight upon weaning. This implies that MMTV-Cre induced gene depletion of PAK4 in mice does not impair normal mammary gland development and thereby provides an in vivo model that can be explored for examination of the potential function of PAK4 in breast cancer.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Parisa Rabieifar ◽  
Ting Zhuang ◽  
Tânia D. F. Costa ◽  
Miao Zhao ◽  
Staffan Strömblad

Abstractp21-activated protein kinases (PAKs) are serine/threonine kinases functioning as downstream effectors of the small GTPases Rac1 and Cdc42. Members of the PAK family are overexpressed in human breast cancer, but their role in mammary gland development is not fully explored. Here we examined the functional role of PAK4 in mammary gland development by creating a mouse model of MMTV-Cre driven conditional PAK4 gene depletion in the mammary gland. The PAK4 conditional knock-out mice were born healthy with no observed developmental deficits. Mammary gland whole-mounts revealed no defects in ductal formation or elongation of the mammary tree through the fat pad. PAK4 gene depletion also did not alter proliferation and invasion of the mammary epithelium in young virgin mice. Moreover, adult mice gave birth to healthy pups with normal body weight upon weaning. This implies that MMTV-Cre induced gene depletion of PAK4 in mice does not impair normal mammary gland development and thereby provides an in vivo model for examination of the potential function of PAK4 in breast cancer.


2018 ◽  
Vol 65 ◽  
pp. 91-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilanit Boyango ◽  
Uri Barash ◽  
Liat Fux ◽  
Inna Naroditsky ◽  
Neta Ilan ◽  
...  

Endocrinology ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 146 (8) ◽  
pp. 3577-3588 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark D. Aupperlee ◽  
Kyle T. Smith ◽  
Anastasia Kariagina ◽  
Sandra Z. Haslam

Abstract Progesterone is a potent mitogen in the mammary gland. Based on studies using cells and animals engineered to express progesterone receptor (PR) isoforms A or B, PRA and PRB are believed to have different functions. Using an immunohistochemical approach with antibodies specific for PRA only or PRB only, we show that PRA and PRB expression in mammary epithelial cells is temporally and spatially separated during normal mammary gland development in the BALB/c mouse. In the virgin mammary gland when ductal development is active, the only PR protein isoform expressed was PRA. PRA levels were significantly lower during pregnancy, suggesting a minor role at this stage of development. PRB was abundantly expressed only during pregnancy, during alveologenesis. PRA and PRB colocalization occurred in only a small percentage of cells. During pregnancy there was extensive colocalization of PRB with 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine (BrdU) and cyclin D1; 95% of BrdU-positive cells and 83% of cyclin D1-positive cells expressed PRB. No colocalization of PRA with either BrdU or cyclin D1 was observed at pregnancy. In the virgin gland, PRA colocalization with BrdU or cyclin D1 was low; only 27% of BrdU-positive cells and 4% of cyclin D1-positive cells expressed PRA. The implication of these findings is that different actions of progesterone are mediated in PRB positive vs. PRA-positive cells in vivo. The spatial and temporal separation of PR isoform expression in mouse mammary gland provides a unique opportunity to determine the specific functions of PRA vs. PRB in vivo.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. e101546 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael K. G. Stewart ◽  
Isabelle Plante ◽  
John F. Bechberger ◽  
Christian C. Naus ◽  
Dale W. Laird

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (8) ◽  
pp. 774
Author(s):  
Vahid Atashgaran ◽  
Pallave Dasari ◽  
Leigh J. Hodson ◽  
Andreas Evdokiou ◽  
Simon C. Barry ◽  
...  

Female mice heterozygous for a genetic mutation in transcription factor forkhead box p3 (Foxp3) spontaneously develop mammary cancers; however, the underlying mechanism is not well understood. We hypothesised that increased cancer susceptibility is associated with an underlying perturbation in mammary gland development. The role of Foxp3 in mammary ductal morphogenesis was investigated in heterozygous Foxp3Sf/+ and wildtype Foxp3+/+ mice during puberty and at specific stages of the oestrous cycle. No differences in mammary ductal branching morphogenesis, terminal end bud formation or ductal elongation were observed in pubertal Foxp3Sf/+ mice compared with Foxp3+/+ mice. During adulthood, all mice underwent normal regular oestrous cycles. No differences in epithelial branching morphology were detected in mammary glands from mice at the oestrus, metoestrus, dioestrus and pro-oestrus stages of the cycle. Furthermore, abundance of Foxp3 mRNA and protein in the mammary gland and lymph nodes was not altered in Foxp3Sf/+ mice compared with Foxp3+/+ mice. These studies suggest that Foxp3 heterozygosity does not overtly affect mammary gland development during puberty or the oestrous cycle. Further studies are required to dissect the underlying mechanisms of increased mammary cancer susceptibility in Foxp3Sf/+ heterozygous mice and the function of this transcription factor in normal mammary gland development.


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