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abstract
ABSTRACT: GATA-3 Maintains the Differentiation of the Luminal Cell Fate in the Mammary Gland [Cell]
The GATA family of transcription factors plays fundamental roles in cell-fate specification. However, it is unclear if these genes are necessary for the maintenance of cellular differentiation after development. We identified GATA-3 as the most highly enriched transcription factor in the mammary epithelium of pubertal mice. GATA-3 was found in the luminal cells of mammary ducts and the body cells of terminal end buds (TEBs). Upon conditional deletion of GATA-3, mice exhibited severe defects in mammary development due to failure in TEB formation during puberty. After acute GATA-3 loss, adult mice exhibited undifferentiated luminal cell expansion with basement-membrane detachment, which led to caspase-mediated cell death in the long term. Further, FOXA1 was identified as a downstream target of GATA-3 in the mammary gland. This suggests that GATA-3 actively maintains luminal epithelial differentiation in the adult mammary gland, which raises important implications for the pathogenesis of breast cancer.
This is important news for those trying to figure out what goes wrong in breast cancer to start with. Also for those trying to figure out what might be a suitable target on the breast cancer stem cells (which sit dormant in the bone marrow waiting for the right conditions to recur) to attack with targeted treatments
Lots of abbreviations and long words, but a big step forward in unravelling the mystery it would seem...
The best way to treat breast cancer is to prevent it...next best is to discover it early and find a targeted way to keep it from recurring
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