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Updated: Jun 9, 2026

Evaluation of Stem Cell Properties in Human Ovarian Carcinoma Cells Using Multi and Single Cell-based Spheres Assays
Published on: January 3, 2015
Ovarian steroid hormones: what's hot in the stem cell pool?
Diana M Cittelly1, Jennifer K Richer, Carol A Sartorius
1Department of Pathology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA.
Abstract:
The vital role of ovarian hormones in the development of the normal breast foreshadowed their importance in mammary stem cell regulation. Two recent papers reveal that 17β-estradiol and progesterone control the size and repopulating ability of the mammary stem cell compartment. This likely occurs via paracrine signaling from steroid receptor-positive luminal cells to steroid receptor-negative stem cells. These findings illuminate roles for the female sex steroids in mobilizing the stem cell pool in the normal breast, and also provide a crucial link between the known hormonal risks of breast cancer and the potential stem cell origin of this disease.
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