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Updated: Feb 12, 2026
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MAME Models for 4D Live-cell Imaging of Tumor: Microenvironment Interactions that Impact Malignant Progression
Published on: February 17, 2012
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Aging Mouse Models Reveal Complex Tumor-Microenvironment Interactions in Cancer Progression
Hidetoshi Mori1, Robert D Cardiff1,2, Alexander D Borowsky1,2
1Center for Comparative Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States.
Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology
|April 14, 2018
Summary
Genetically engineered mouse models (GEMM) are crucial for studying human breast cancer by mimicking genetic diseases. This review compares aging factors in these models and introduces databases for GEMM attributes.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Genetics
- Animal Models
Background:
- Genetically engineered mouse models (GEMM) are vital for understanding complex biological systems and human diseases like breast cancer.
- GEMM allow phenocopy inference for genetic human diseases, particularly breast cancer, by modeling gene functions within the mammary gland environment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review aging-related factors in mouse models for breast cancer.
- To introduce databases detailing GEMM attributes and colony variations for improved research.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing mammary epithelial-specific promoters in GEMM to investigate gene functions, including putative oncogenes.
- Employing gene-targeted knockout and conditional knockout mice to study mammary organogenesis and tumor suppressor genes.
Main Results:
- GEMM reveal developmental defects and the importance of tumor suppressor genes in mammary organogenesis.
- Some GEMM exhibit non-traditional tumor suppression, highlighting host-environment interactions in cancer progression.
Conclusions:
- GEMM provide insights into cancer progression beyond intrinsic cancer cell properties.
- Careful consideration of mouse strain, background, and environmental factors is essential for accurate analysis of mouse models.
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