Characterization of mammary cancer stem cells in the MMTV-PyMT mouse model

摘要: Breast cancer stem cells, the root of tumor growth, present challenges to investigate: Primary human breast cells are difficult establish in culture and inconsistently yield tumors after transplantation into immune-deficient recipient mice. Furthermore, there is limited characterization mammary mice, ideal model for study cancer. We herein describe a pre-clinical cell model, based on properties derived from transgenic MMTV-PyMT Using defined set surface markers identify by flow cytometry, at least four populations were recovered primary cancers. Only two populations, one epithelial mesenchymal, able survive proliferate vitro. The population exhibited initiation potential with as few 10 injected syngeneic immune-competent recipients. Tumors initiated lines recapitulated morphological physiological components tumor. To highlight stemness putative B lymphoma Mo-MLV insertion region 1 homolog (Bmi-1) expression was knocked down via shRNA targeting Bmi-1. Without Bmi-1 expression, could no longer initiate tumors, but rescued introduction overexpression vector knockdown cells. In conclusion, our data show that cancers mice contain can be used create