Article
Physiology
Marika Caruso, Sjanie Huang, Larissa Mourao, Colinda L. G. J. Scheele
Summary: Branching morphogenesis is the process of forming branched structures in organs such as the lung and kidney. The exact mechanisms behind branch elongation and bifurcation are still not well understood. This study presents an improved culture method for developing complex branched mammary organoids, which offers new possibilities for studying branching in the mammary gland.
FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Katharine Goodwin, Bezia Lemma, Pengfei Zhang, Adam Boukind, Celeste M. Nelson
Summary: It has been discovered that smooth muscle differentiation plays a role in shaping the branches of airway epithelial in mammalian lungs. Serum response factor (SRF) and its co-factor myocardin activate the expression of contractile smooth muscle markers. However, in adults, smooth muscle exhibits different phenotypes beyond contractile, which are not influenced by SRF/myocardin-induced transcription. To investigate if similar plasticity is observed during development, Srf was deleted from the mouse embryonic pulmonary mesenchyme. The study found that the mutant lungs without Srf branched normally, and the mesenchyme showed mechanical properties similar to controls. Single-cell RNA sequencing( scRNA-seq) identified an Srf-null smooth muscle cluster in the mutant lungs, which lacked contractile smooth muscle markers but still retained many characteristics of control smooth muscle. The findings suggest that embryonic airway smooth muscle exhibits a synthetic phenotype, which promotes airway branching morphogenesis.
DEVELOPMENTAL CELL
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Jingqiang Wang, Wenqian Song, Ruikai Yang, Chao Li, Ting Wu, Xiao Bing Dong, Bin Zhou, Xizhi Guo, Jianfeng Chen, Zhiyong Liu, Qing Cissy Yu, Wen Li, Junfen Fu, Yi Arial Zeng
Summary: This study reveals a crucial signaling axis in which fibroblasts relay Wnt signals from endothelial cells to organize epithelial patterning. It also demonstrates the importance of different niche components in coordinating epithelial organogenesis and tissue homeostasis.
Article
Oncology
Ayman M. Ibrahim, Alan Bilsland, Steffen Rickelt, Joanna S. Morris, Torsten Stein
Summary: The study identified significant differences in extracellular matrix distribution in the mouse mammary gland during early pregnancy and found that pregnancy-associated fibroblasts enhanced branching initiation compared to control fibroblasts. A signature of differentially expressed matrisome RNAs was a strong prognostic indicator of distant metastasis-free survival in breast cancer patients, with particular relevance to estrogen receptor-negative breast cancers.
BREAST CANCER RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Neil M. Neumann, Daniel M. Kim, Robert J. Huebner, Andrew J. Ewald
Summary: In this study, the process of bifurcation of mammary epithelium was investigated. The researchers observed changes in cell migration speed and the role of TGF-0 signaling in this process, revealing the mechanism behind mammary epithelial bifurcation.
JOURNAL OF CELL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sounak Sahu, Mary E. Albaugh, Betty K. Martin, Nimit L. Patel, Lisa Riffle, Susan Mackem, Joseph D. Kalen, Shyam K. Sharan
Summary: This study utilizes an in vitro culture system of mammary organoids to reconstruct the epithelial layers of the adult mammary gland by modulating the growth factor signaling pathways. A toolkit for studying organ regeneration and ductal morphogenesis is established using in vivo and ex vivo imaging techniques. The imaging modalities allow observation of ductal branching after transplantation, providing insights into mammary gland morphogenesis.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sanil Patel, Njeri Z. R. Sparman, Douglas Arneson, Alexandra Alvarsson, Luis C. Santos, Samuel J. J. Duesman, Alessia Centonze, Ephraim Hathaway, In Sook Ahn, Graciel Diamante, Ingrid Cely, Chung Hwan Cho, Noble Kumar Talari, Abha K. K. Rajbhandari, Leigh Goedeke, Peng Wang, Atul J. J. Butte, Cedric Blanpain, Karthickeyan Chella Krishnan, Aldons J. J. Lusis, Sarah A. A. Stanley, Xia Yang, Prashant Rajbhandari
Summary: The mammary gland ductal epithelial cells regulate cold-induced adipocyte UCP1 expression and control adipose thermogenesis through the secretion of mammokines. These findings suggest that sympathetic nerve-activated glandular epithelium plays a crucial role in adipocyte UCP1 expression and has implications for energy expenditure and subcutaneous fat loss.
Article
Developmental Biology
Jin Man Kim, YoungJu Jo, Ju Won Jung, Kyungpyo Park
Summary: The study reported a mechanogenetic role of the actomyosin complex in branching morphogenesis, revealing the importance of force distribution for promoting the branching process, and the crucial genes regulated by YAP and TAZ for the distribution of epithelial progenitor cells in epithelial organs.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Zaneta Dziegelewska-Sokolowska, Alicja Majewska, Adam Prostek, Malgorzata Gajewska
Summary: The mammary gland consists of epithelial tissue and stroma, with preadipocytes and adipocytes as important components of the stroma. This study investigated the effects of paracrine factors secreted by preadipocytes and adipocytes on the development of bovine mammary epithelial cells. The results showed that factors secreted by fully differentiated adipocytes and preadipocytes can decrease apoptosis and increase the size of spheroids formed by the mammary epithelial cells.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Yu Zhou, Zi Ye, Wei Wei, Mengna Zhang, Fujing Huang, Jinpeng Li, Cheguo Cai
Summary: The adult stem cell niche consists of various stromal cells and signals that regulate tissue development and homeostasis. In this study, we demonstrate that mammary resident macrophages play a role in regulating mammary epithelium cell division and mammary development through the TNF-alpha-Cdk1/Cyclin B1 axis. Depletion of macrophages in vivo reduces the number of mammary basal cells and mammary stem cells (MaSCs), while increasing mammary luminal cells. In vitro, co-culturing mammary basal cells with macrophages promotes the formation of functional mammary organoids.
NPJ REGENERATIVE MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Developmental Biology
Ayan T. Ray, Philippe Soriano
Summary: Loss of FGF signaling leads to defects in salivary gland branching. Disruption of Fgfr1 and Fgfr2 expression in salivary gland epithelial cells reveals their coordinated function in regulating branching. Non-canonical FGF signaling mechanisms involving cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion play a role in salivary gland branching morphogenesis.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Xiao-Ru Yan, Tao Shi, Jia-Ying Xiao, Ya-Fang Liu, Hui-Ling Zheng
Summary: This study investigated the transdifferentiation of GM-preadipocytes into MECs induced by conditioned media, revealing genes and transcription factors associated with the process. By integrating transcriptome, DNA methylome, and proteome data, regulatory axes related to cell cycle, cell polarity establishment, cell adhesion, cell reprogramming, and adipocyte plasticity were identified.
JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Bryan A. Nerger, Jacob M. Jaslove, Hader E. Elashal, Sheng Mao, Andrej Kosmrlj, A. James Link, Celeste M. Nelson
Summary: The global bias in epithelial orientation during pubertal mammary development is primarily influenced by the angle of bifurcation of terminal end buds (TEBs). A local increase in stiffness from the accumulation of extracellular matrix constrains the angle of bifurcation of TEBs, which is sufficient to pattern the global orientation of the developing mammary epithelium. These findings suggest that local mechanical properties play a crucial role in regulating the global pattern of mammary epithelial branching.
Article
Cell Biology
Satu-Marja Myllymaki, Beata Kaczynska, Qiang Lan, Marja L. Mikkola
Summary: Branching morphogenesis is an evolutionary strategy for enhancing epithelial function in compact organs. However, the coordination between cell elongation and branching remains unclear. In the embryonic mammary gland, live imaging revealed that tip cells advance through directional migration while elongation depends on differential cell motility, with lagging cells being fed into the trailing duct and supported by tip proliferation. Branching involves localized repression of cell cycle and motility, and daughter cells change direction to elongate new branches while remaining proliferative. Additionally, epithelial cell contractility is crucial for mammary branching morphogenesis.
JOURNAL OF CELL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Holly Holliday, Daniel Roden, Simon Junankar, Sunny Z. Wu, Laura A. Baker, Christoph Krisp, Chia-Ling Chan, Andrea McFarland, Joanna N. Skhinas, Thomas R. Cox, Bhupinder Pal, Nicholas D. Huntington, Christopher J. Ormandy, Jason S. Carroll, Jane Visvader, Mark P. Molloy, Alexander Swarbrick
Summary: ID4 functions as a repressor of myoepithelial differentiation in mammary basal cells by regulating gene expression, antagonizing HEB transcriptional activity, and promoting appropriate tissue morphogenesis. During pregnancy, downregulation of ID4 modulates genes regulated by HEB, promoting specialization of basal cells into myoepithelial cells.
Article
Cell Biology
Jakub Sumbal, Aurelie Chiche, Elsa Charifou, Zuzana Koledova, Han Li
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Engineering, Manufacturing
Edgar B. Montufar, Serhii Tkachenko, Mariano Casas-Luna, Pavel Skarvada, Karel Slamecka, Sebastian Diaz-de-la-Torre, Daniel Koutny, David Palousek, Zuzana Koledova, Laura Hernandez-Tapia, Tomas Zikmund, Ladislav Celko, Jozef Kaiser
ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING
(2020)
Article
Cell Biology
Anas Rabata, Radek Fedr, Karel Soucek, Ales Hampl, Zuzana Koledova
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2020)
Editorial Material
Cell Biology
Vida Vafaizadeh, Emilia Peuhu, Alexandra Van Keymeulen, Zuzana Koledova
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2020)
Editorial Material
Oncology
Teresa Monkkonen, Gunnhildur Asta Traustadottir, Zuzana Koledova
Summary: The field of mammary gland biology and breast cancer research is complex and interdisciplinary, involving various topics and scientific questions, with researchers utilizing a wide range of molecular biology methods and emerging technologies to advance the field.
JOURNAL OF MAMMARY GLAND BIOLOGY AND NEOPLASIA
(2020)
Article
Oncology
Jakub Sumbal, Zuzana Budkova, Gunnhildur Asta Traustadottir, Zuzana Koledova
JOURNAL OF MAMMARY GLAND BIOLOGY AND NEOPLASIA
(2020)
Review
Cell Biology
Jakub Sumbal, Denisa Belisova, Zuzana Koledova
Summary: This article summarizes key studies that unravel the roles of fibroblasts in mammary gland development. Additionally, it discusses the origin, heterogeneity, and plasticity of mammary fibroblasts during mammary development and cancer progression.
SEMINARS IN CELL & DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Hana Kotasova, Michaela Capandova, Vendula Pelkova, Jana Dumkova, Zuzana Koledova, Jan Remsik, Karel Soucek, Zuzana Garlikova, Veronika Sedlakova, Anas Rabata, Petr Vanhara, Lukas Moran, Lukas Pecinka, Volodymyr Porokh, Martin Kucirek, Libor Streit, Josef Havel, Ales Hampl
Summary: Using the differentiation potential of human embryonic stem cells, researchers have derived expandable lung epithelium and established culture conditions for their long-term propagation. These cells express early lung epithelial lineage markers, making them suitable for applications in regenerative medicine and disease modeling.
TISSUE ENGINEERING AND REGENERATIVE MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Alecia-Jane Twigger, Jakub Sumbal, Mohamed Bentires-Alj, Beatrice A. Howard
Summary: The thirteenth annual workshop of the European Network for Breast Development and Cancer (ENBDC) Laboratories was held in Switzerland in April 2022. Sixty scientists participated in the workshop, which focused on methods in mammary gland biology and breast cancer research. The topics discussed ranged from lactation biology and embryonic development to advanced imaging techniques and breast cancer progression. Attendees presented their latest findings through oral presentations and poster sessions.
JOURNAL OF MAMMARY GLAND BIOLOGY AND NEOPLASIA
(2022)
Article
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications
Lucia Hradecka, David Wiesner, Jakub Sumbal, Zuzana Sumbalova Koledova, Martin Maska
Summary: We introduce an automated and deep-learning-based workflow for quantitatively analyzing the spatiotemporal development of mammary epithelial organoids in 2D+t sequences. This workflow incorporates a convolutional neural network (U-Net) trained with computer-generated bioimage data, adaptive morphological filtering, and a shape-similarity-constrained tracking procedure to reliably identify and track organoid instances of interest.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MEDICAL IMAGING
(2023)
Article
Biology
Elsa Charifou, Jakub Sumbal, Zuzana Koledova, Han Li, Aurelie Chiche
Summary: The mammary gland is a highly dynamic tissue that undergoes changes during reproductive life, and mammary gland tumors are the most common cancer diagnosed in women worldwide. Studying the regulatory mechanisms of mammary gland development is crucial for understanding breast cancer initiation and progression. Three-dimensional mammary organoids offer exciting possibilities for studying tissue development and breast cancer, particularly postpartum-associated breast cancer.
