Insight into mammary gland development and tumor progression in an E2F5 conditional knockout mouse model

Development of breast cancer is linked to altered regulation of mammary gland developmental processes. A better understanding of normal mammary gland development can thus reveal possible mechanisms of how normal cells are re-programmed to become malignant. E2Fs 1-4 are part of the E2F transcription factor family with varied roles in mammary development, but little is known about the role of E2F5. A combination of scRNAseq and predictive signature tools demonstrated the presence of E2F5 in the mammary gland and showed changes in predicted activity during the various phases of mammary gland development. Testing the hypothesis that E2F5 regulates mammary function, we generated a mammary-specific E2F5 knockout mouse model, resulting in modest mammary gland development changes. However, after a prolonged latency the E2F5 conditional knockout mice developed highly metastatic mammary tumors. Whole genome sequencing revealed significant intertumor heterogeneity. RNAseq and protein analysis identified altered levels of Cyclin D1, with similarities to MMTV-Neu tumors, suggesting that E2F5 conditional knockout mammary glands and tumors may be dependent on Cyclin D1. Transplantation of the tumors revealed metastases to lymph nodes that were enriched through serial transplantation in immune competent recipients. Based on these findings, we propose that loss of E2F5 leads to altered regulation of Cyclin D1, which facilitates the development of metastatic mammary tumors after long latency. More importantly, this study demonstrates that conditional loss of E2F5 in the mammary gland leads to tumor formation, revealing its role as a transcription factor regulating a network of genes that normally result in a tumor suppressor function.