Benzpyrene (BP) hydroxylase activity in the liver, small intestine, adrenal, and mammary gland of normal rats has been quantitatively assayed. There was only a very small amount of enzyme activity in the mammary gland. Administration of 3methylcholanthrene (3-MC) induced a marked increase in BP hydroxylase activity in the liver and intestine, but was without effect on the enzyme level in the ma...

The expression of different glucose transporter isoforms was measured during the development and differentiation of the rat mammary gland. Before conception, when the mammary gland is mainly composed of adipocytes, Glut 4 and Glut 1 mRNAs and proteins were present. During pregnancy, the expression of Glut 4 decreased progressively, whereas that of Glut 1 increased. In the lactating mammary glan...

The mammary gland is the distinct feature that gives the name to the class of mammals and distinguishes them from other animals. Functionally, the mammary gland is a secretory organ which main role is to produce milk to nourish the offspring. Organogenesis of the mammary gland starts during embryogenesis but occurs mainly after birth at puberty under the influence of hormonal cues. Throughout t...

The tissue microenvironment directs stem/progenitor cell behavior. Cancer cells are also influenced by the microenvironment. It has been shown that, when placed into blastocysts, cancer cells respond to embryonic cues and differentiate according to the tissue type encountered during ontological development. Previously, we showed that the mouse mammary gland was capable of redirecting adult mous...

A growing body of research suggests a linkage between pubertal mammary gland development and environmental factors such as diet as modifiers of long term breast cancer risk. Much of this research is dependent upon mouse models, which may vary between studies. However, effects may be strain dependent and further modified by diet, which has not been previously examined. Therefore, the objective o...

Knowledge of general aspects of mammary gland function, including metabolic pathways and hormonal regulation of mammary gland development and lactation, in livestock species was obtained several decades ago. As basic biological information of growth factor action, apoptotic mechanisms, and signal transduction events has exploded, the mouse became the model of choice for studying fundamental mec...

Breast cancer occurs at rate of 1 out of 7. After so many years of research, even though treatment has been dramatically improved and survival rate and length significantly increased, there is still not cure for the disease. The possible existence of mammary gland stem cell and breast cancer stem cell [1, 2] lights the hope for finding a cure to this deadly disease. The rational behind is that ...

One topical application of 0.02 mmole of /V-hydroxy-2fluorenylacetamide to the left thoracic glands of adult female Sprague-Dawley rats gave a 70% tumor incidence at the site. The tumors appeared 3 to 6 months after the application and were mammary adenocarcinomas. In contrast, the tumor incidence after application of N-2fluorenylacetamide was 30%, the latent period was 8 to 11 months, and the ...

Any epithelial portion of a normal mouse mammary gland can reproduce an entire functional gland when transplanted into an epithelium-free mammary fat pad. Mouse mammary hyperplasias and tumors are clonal dominant populations and probably represent the progeny of a single transformed cell. Our study provides evidence that single multipotent stem cells positioned throughout the mature fully devel...

Metabolism in the gastrointestinal tract (MacRae et al. 1997) and liver (Lobley & Milano, 1997) has been shown to be important in determining the amount and pattern of amino acids (AA) available post-hepatically for mammary gland utilization as well as for muscle, skin and, indeed, the gastrointestinal tract. High rates of metabolism by the non-mammary tissues have been suggested as one reason ...