This study aimed to establish yak mammary epithelial cells (YMECs) for an in vitro model of yak mammary gland biology. The primary culture of YMECs was obtained from mammary gland tissues of lactating yak and then characterized using immunocytochemistry, RT-PCR, and western blot analysis. Whether foreign genes could be transfected into the YMECs were examined by transfecting the EGFP gene into ...

In order to compare the interactions of procarcinogens with mammary cells from humans and rats, a uniform set of mediated mutagenesis assays has been established. In these assays, species-specific mammary epithelial cells activate procarcinogens, and specific locus mutations are quantitated in cocultured V-79 cells. Mutations were induced in the rat mammary cell coculture system exposed to 7,12...

The EGF-CFC gene family encodes a group of structurally related proteins that serve as important competence factors during early embryogenesis in Xenopus, zebrafish, mice and humans. This multigene family consists of Xenopus FRL-1, zebrafish one-eyed-pinhead (oep), mouse cripto (Cr-1) and cryptic, and human cripto (CR-1) and criptin. FRL-1, oep and mouse cripto are essential for the formation o...

The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) endows carcinoma cells with phenotypic plasticity that can facilitate the formation of cancer stem cells (CSCs) and contribute to the metastatic cascade. While there is substantial support for the role of EMT in driving cancer cell dissemination, less is known about the intracellular molecular mechanisms that govern formation of CSCs via EMT. Here we ...

The majority of patients who succumb to cancer die from metastatic disease progression rather than from the primary tumor. Elucidation of the mechanisms underlying tissue-specific metastasis is essential to the development of effective therapies. The mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK) pathway is frequently activated in human tumors and has been shown to regulate genes involved in pro...

Expression of the extracellular matrix glycoprotein tenascin-C in the mammary gland is associated with cellular proliferation and cell motility during organogenesis and tumorigenesis. Because the source and the regulation of tenascin-C in these tissues are unclear, we have used tenascin-C cDNA, FITC-immunofluorescence and immuno-precipitation to examine tenascin-C expression of mammary epitheli...

The development of many epithelial organs depends on a series of sequential and reciprocal interactions between epithelial cells and adjacent mesenchymal or stromal cells (Thesleff et al., 1995; Birchmeier and Birchmeier, 1993). The mammary gland is an example of an organ where these epithelialmesenchymal interactions play a critical role, especially during embryonic development (Sakakura, 1987...

A monoclonal antibody (7B10) which displays differential reactivity with breast carcinomas compared to benign lesions or normal breast tissue was selected by fusion of spleen cells from BALB/c mice immunized with the T47D human mammary carcinoma cell line. The antigen, recognized by 7B10 on T47D cells, appeared to be both surface and cytoplasm localized, as demonstrated by indirect immunofluore...

Mammary epithelial cells proliferate, invade the stroma, differentiate, and die in adult mammals by mechanisms that are poorly understood. We found that Id-1, an inhibitor of basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors, regulates mammary epithelial cell growth, differentiation, and invasion in culture. Here, we show that Id-1 is expressed highly during mammary development in virgin mice and du...

The Th-inducing POK (Th-POK, also known as ZBTB7B or cKrox) transcription factor is a key regulator of lineage commitment of immature T cell precursors. It is yet unclear the physiological functions of Th-POK besides helper T cell differentiation. Here we show that Th-POK is restrictedly expressed in the luminal epithelial cells in the mammary glands that is upregulated at late pregnancy and la...