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Conditional knockout of fibronectin abrogates mouse mammary gland lobuloalveolar differentiation.

ABSTRACT: Fibronectin (Fn) plays an important part in the branching morphogenesis of salivary gland, lung, and kidney. Here, we examine the effect of the conditional knockout of Fn in the mammary epithelium [Fn(MEp-/-)] on postnatal mammary gland development, using Cre-loxP-mediated gene knockout technology. Our data show that Fn deletion causes a moderate retardation in outgrowth and branching of the ductal tree in 5-week-old mice. These defects are partially compensated in virgin 16-week-old mice. However, mammary glands consisting of Fn-deficient epithelial cells fail to undergo normal lobuloalveolar differentiation during pregnancy. The severity of lobuloalveolar impairment ranged from lobular hypoplasia to aplasia in some cases and was associated with the amount of Fn protein recovered from these glands. Decreased rates of mammary epithelial cell proliferation accounted for delayed ductal outgrowth in virgin and lack of alveologenesis in pregnant Fn(MEp-/-) mice. Concomitant decreased expression of integrin beta(1) (Itgb1) and lack of autophosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase (Fak) suggest that this pathology might, at least in part, be mediated by disruption of the Fn/Itgb1/Fak signaling pathway.

SUBMITTER: Liu K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2937099 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Conditional knockout of fibronectin abrogates mouse mammary gland lobuloalveolar differentiation.

Liu Keyi K Cheng Le L Flesken-Nikitin Andrea A Huang Lynn L Nikitin Alexander Y AY Pauli Bendicht U BU

Developmental biology 20100810 1

Fibronectin (Fn) plays an important part in the branching morphogenesis of salivary gland, lung, and kidney. Here, we examine the effect of the conditional knockout of Fn in the mammary epithelium [Fn(MEp-/-)] on postnatal mammary gland development, using Cre-loxP-mediated gene knockout technology. Our data show that Fn deletion causes a moderate retardation in outgrowth and branching of the ductal tree in 5-week-old mice. These defects are partially compensated in virgin 16-week-old mice. Howev ...[more]

PMID: 20624380

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Project description:BackgroundUnlike other tissues, development and differentiation of the mammary gland occur mostly after birth. The roles of systemic hormones and local growth factors important for this development and functional differentiation are well-studied. In other tissues, it has been shown that chromatin organization plays a key role in transcriptional regulation and underlies epigenetic regulation during development and differentiation. However, the role of chromatin organization in mammary gland development and differentiation is less well-defined. Here, we have studied the changes in chromatin organization at the milk protein gene loci (casein, whey acidic protein, and others) in the mouse mammary gland before and after functional differentiation.Methodology/principal findingsDistal regulatory elements within the casein gene cluster and whey acidic protein gene region have an open chromatin organization after pubertal development, while proximal promoters only gain open-chromatin marks during pregnancy in conjunction with the major induction of their expression. In contrast, other milk protein genes, such as alpha-lactalbumin, already have an open chromatin organization in the mature virgin gland. Changes in chromatin organization in the casein gene cluster region that are present after puberty persisted after lactation has ceased, while the changes which occurred during pregnancy at the gene promoters were not maintained. In general, mammary gland expressed genes and their regulatory elements exhibit developmental stage- and tissue-specific chromatin organization.Conclusions/significanceA progressive gain of epigenetic marks indicative of open/active chromatin on genes marking functional differentiation accompanies the development of the mammary gland. These results support a model in which a chromatin organization is established during pubertal development that is then poised to respond to the systemic hormonal signals of pregnancy and lactation to achieve the full functional capacity of the mammary gland.

Dataset Information

Conditional knockout of fibronectin abrogates mouse mammary gland lobuloalveolar differentiation.

Publications

Conditional knockout of fibronectin abrogates mouse mammary gland lobuloalveolar differentiation.

Similar Datasets

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