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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 27, 2026

Mammosphere Formation Assay from Human Breast Cancer Tissues and Cell Lines

Mammosphere Formation Assay from Human Breast Cancer Tissues and Cell Lines

Published on: March 22, 2015

Stem cells and the mammary microenvironment.

Brian W Booth¹, Corinne A Boulanger, Gilbert H Smith

¹Section for Mammary Stem Cell Biology, Mammary Biology and Tumorigenesis Laboratory, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.

|November 26, 2008

Summary

Mouse mammary glands can regenerate from a single cell, revealing three distinct progenitor cell types. The mammary microenvironment influences stem cell fate, suggesting environmental factors are crucial for tissue development and regeneration.

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Area of Science:

Developmental Biology
Stem Cell Biology
Epithelial Biology

Background:

Mammary epithelial outgrowths can arise from a single progenitor cell.
Retroviral insertion sites confirm clonal origin in successive transplant generations.
Three distinct mammary epithelial progenitors (duct-limited, lobule-limited, and complete) have been identified in mice.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the clonal origin and regenerative capacity of mammary epithelial progenitors.
To characterize the self-renewal and differentiation potential of identified progenitor cells.
To explore the influence of the mammary microenvironment on stem cell fate determination.

Main Methods:

Mammary fragment transplantation and limiting dilution analysis.
Cre-lox conditional activation of reporter genes (lacZ) for lineage tracing.
In vivo transplantation of genetically marked cells into epithelium-divested mammary fat pads.

Main Results:

Transplantation studies identified three distinct mammary epithelial progenitors.
Lobule-limited progenitors were lineage-marked and shown to regenerate secretory lobules across pregnancies.
Cells from other tissues, when placed in the mammary microenvironment, adopted mammary epithelial cell fates.

Conclusions:

The mouse mammary gland contains at least three distinct epithelial progenitor populations.
The mammary microenvironment plays a dominant role in directing the cell fate of resident stem cells.
Somatic stem cell plasticity is influenced by extrinsic environmental cues in vivo.