Dmrt1 (doublesex and mab-3 related transcription factor 1) is a conserved transcriptional regulator of male differentiation required for testicular development in vertebrates. In mice of the 129Sv strain, loss of Dmrt1 causes a high incidence of teratomas. Mutant 129Sv germ cells undergo apparently normal differentiation up to embryonic day 13.5 (E13.5), but some cells fail to arrest mitosis and ectopically express pluripotency markers. Expression analysis and chromatin immunoprecipitation identified DMRT1 target genes whose misexpression may underly teratoma formation.
The DM domain protein DMRT1 is a dose-sensitive regulator of fetal germ cell proliferation and pluripotency.
Specimen part
View SamplesMetabolically active cells require robust mechanisms to combat oxidative stress. The cytoplasmic thioredoxin reductase/thioredoxin (Txnrd1/Txn1) system maintains reduced protein dithiols and provides electrons to some cellular reductases, including peroxiredoxins.
Cytoprotective Nrf2 pathway is induced in chronically txnrd 1-deficient hepatocytes.
Specimen part
View SamplesThis SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below.
BET bromodomains mediate transcriptional pause release in heart failure.
Age, Specimen part, Treatment
View SamplesHere, we show that functional loss of a single gene is sufficient to confer constitutive milk protein production and protection against mammary tumor formation. Caveolin-3 (Cav-3), a muscle-specific caveolin-related gene, is highly expressed in striated and smooth muscle cells. We demonstrate that Cav-3 is also expressed in myoepithelial cells within the mammary gland. To determine if genetic ablation of Cav-3 expression affects adult mammary gland development, we next studied the phenotype(s) of Cav-3 (-/-) null mice. Interestingly, detailed analysis of Cav-3 (-/-) virgin mammary glands shows dramatic increases in ductal thickness, side-branching, and the development of extensive lobulo-alveolar hyperplasia, akin to the changes normally observed during pregnancy and lactation. Analysis by genome-wide expression profiling reveals the upregulation of gene transcripts associated with pregnancy/lactation, mammary stem cells, and human breast cancers, consistent with a constitutive lactogenic phenotype. The expression levels of three key transcriptional regulators of lactation, namely Elf5, Stat5a, and c-Myc are also significantly elevated. Experiments with pregnant mice directly show that Cav-3 (-/-) mice undergo precocious lactation. Finally, using orthotopic implantation of a transformed mammary cell line (known as Met-1), we demonstrate that virgin Cav-3 (-/-) mice are dramatically protected against mammary tumor formation. Interestingly, Cav-3 (+/-) mice also show similar protection, indicating that even reductions in Cav-3 levels are sufficient to render these mice resistant to tumorigenesis. Thus, Cav-3 (-/-) mice are a novel preclinical model to study the protective effects of a constitutive lactogenic microenviroment on mammary tumor onset and progression. Our current studies have broad implications for using the lactogenic micro-environment as a paradigm to discover new therapies for the prevention and/or treatment of human breast cancers. Most importantly, a lactation-based therapeutic strategy would provide a more natural and nontoxic approach to the development of novel anti-cancer therapies.
Loss of caveolin-3 induces a lactogenic microenvironment that is protective against mammary tumor formation.
No sample metadata fields
View Samples