Mammary Cell News Volume 3.23 | Jun 16 2011

SLIT/ROBO1 Signaling Suppresses Mammary Branching Morphogenesis by Limiting Basal Cell Number
Investigators reported that the proliferation of basal cells is controlled by SLIT/ROBO1 signaling and that production of these cells regulates outgrowth of mammary branches. [Dev Cell]

Signaling Pathways Point to Vulnerability in Breast Cancer Stem Cells
Researchers have identified signals from breast epithelial cells that can induce those cells to transition to and maintain a mesenchymal and stem cell-like cell state that imbues both normal and cancer cells with a greater ability to migrate and self-renew. [Press release from Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research discussing online prepublication in Cell]

Silencing a Deadly Conversation in Breast Cancer
While it is already known that breast cancer cells create the conditions for their own survival by communicating their needs to the healthy cells that surround them, researchers have identified a new way of turning off that cellular cross talk. [Press release from Garvan Institute discussing online prepublication in Cancer Research]

LABORATORY RESEARCH

Paracrine and Autocrine Signals Induce and Maintain Mesenchymal and Stem Cell States in the Breast
Researchers described three signaling pathways, involving transforming growth factor-β and canonical and noncanonical Wnt signaling, that collaborate to induce activation of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition program and thereafter function in an autocrine fashion to maintain the resulting mesenchymal state. [Cell]

Mad2 Is a Critical Mediator of the Chromosome Instability Observed upon Rb and p53 Pathway Inhibition
Scientists show that chromosome instability (CIN) in cultured cells lacking Rb family proteins requires Mad2 upregulation and that this upregulation is also necessary for CIN and tumor progression in vivo. [Cancer Cell]

A Low Carbohydrate, High Protein Diet Slows Tumor Growth and Prevents Cancer Initiation
Since cancer cells depend on glucose more than normal cells, scientists compared the effects of low carbohydrate diets to a Western diet on the growth rate of tumors in mice. [Cancer Res]

Inhibition of miR-193a Expression by Max and RXRα Activates K-Ras and PLAU to Mediate Distinct Aspects of Cellular Transformation
MicroRNA profiling in isogenic models of cellular transformation involving either breast epithelial cells or fibroblasts reveals that expression of miR-193a is lower in transformed cells than in non-transformed cells. [Cancer Res]

Identification and Functional Analysis of 9p24 Amplified Genes in Human Breast Cancer
In the current study, scientists aimed to comprehensively characterize the genes in the 9p24 amplicon in human breast cancer. [Oncogene]

Upregulation of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-A and CD24 Gene Expression by the tGLI1 Transcription Factor Contributes to the Aggressive Behavior of Breast Cancer Cells
Using glioblastoma models, researchers showed that truncated glioma-associated oncogene homolog 1 (tGLI1) has gained the ability to promote glioblastoma migration and invasion via its gain-of-function transcriptional activity. [Oncogene]

Gamma-Secretase Inhibitors Target Tumor-Initiating Cells in a Mouse Model of ERBB2 Breast Cancer
To identify molecular targets in breast tumor-initiating cells, investigators employed a transgenic mouse model of ERBB2 breast cancer. [Oncogene]

Notch-Induced Mammary Tumorigenesis Does Not Involve the Lobule-Limited Epithelial Progenitor
In this study, scientists demonstrated that an epithelial population distinct from parity-identified mammary epithelial cells is transformed during whey acidic protein promoter (WAP)-Int3 tumorigenesis. [Oncogene]

Enhanced Metastasis Suppression by Targeting TRAIL Receptor 2 in a Murine Model of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
Several metastatic, triple (estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor and HER2)-negative cancer cell lines were treated with human agonistic monoclonal antibodies targeting TRAIL-R1 (mapatumumab) or TRAIL-R2 (lexatumumab). The effects on cell viability, apoptosis, and caspase-8 activation were determined. [Clin Cancer Res]

CLINICAL RESEARCH

Increased Risk of Locoregional Recurrence for Women with T1-2N0 Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Treated with Modified Radical Mastectomy without Adjuvant Radiation Therapy Compared with Breast-Conserving Therapy
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the risk of locoregional recurrence associated with locoregional treatment of women with primary breast cancer tumors negative for estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (triple-negative breast cancer). [J Clin Oncol]

Single-Injection Depot Progesterone Before Surgery and Survival in Women with Operable Breast Cancer: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Researchers investigated the effect of a single preoperative injection of hydroxyprogesterone in women with operable breast cancer in a randomized controlled trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier, NCT00123669). [J Clin Oncol]

Hedgehog Overexpression Is Associated with Stromal Interactions and Predicts for Poor Outcome in Breast Cancer
In a cohort of 279 patients with invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast, expression of Hedgehog ligand was significantly associated with increased risk of metastasis, breast cancer-specific death, and a basal-like phenotype. [Cancer Res]

Algeta Announces Positive Preliminary Bone Marker Results in a Phase IIa Study Evaluating Alpharadin in Breast Cancer Patients with Bone Metastases
Algeta ASA announced that preliminary data from its Phase IIa study of Alpharadin (radium-223 chloride) for the treatment of bone metastases in 23 patients with endocrine-refractory breast cancer showed positive results for bone markers. [Algeta ASA Press Release]

The Jackson Laboratory Partners with NCI, UC Davis to Speed New Cancer Treatments to Clinical Trials
The partnership brings together The University of California (UC) Davis Cancer Center, The Jackson Laboratory and the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Center for Advanced Preclinical Research, all under the umbrella of NCI’s Advanced Technology Partnerships Initiative. [The Jackson Laboratory Press Release]

New Partnership to Develop Personalized Cancer Treatments
Barts Cancer Institute has formed a new partnership to develop personalized diagnosis and treatments for cancer patients. The Institute will join forces with Source BioScience and Illumina Inc. in a collaboration that brings half a million pounds in research funding. [Queen Mary, University of London Press Release]

Agreement with Roche gives UCLA Stem Cell and Cancer Researchers Early Access to Leading-edge Technologies for the Advancement of Medical Research
An agreement between the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and Roche will provide stem cell and cancer researchers with leading-edge technologies that will drive research capabilities and further the understanding of complex disease. [Eli & Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine & Stem Cell Research Press Release]

The New York Stem Cell Foundation Awards Fellowships to Seven Innovative Stem Cell Scientists
The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) announced the appointment of seven new NYSCF-Druckenmiller Fellows, who are conducting groundbreaking research in the stem cell field. [New York Stem Cell Foundation Press Release]

FDA Approves New Test to Help Determine if Breast Cancer Patients Are Candidates for Herceptin Treatment
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a new genetic test that will help health care professionals determine if women with breast cancer are HER2-positive and, therefore, candidates for Herceptin (trastuzumab). [U.S. Food and Drug Administration, United States]

Government Accepts NHS Reform Changes, Including Commitments to Research and Clinical Networks
The government has accepted the main recommendations made by the independent National Health Service (NHS) Future Forum. [National Health Services, United Kingdom]

National Institutes of Health (United States)

Food and Drug Administration (United States)

Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (United States)

European Medicines Agency (European Union)

Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (United Kingdom)

Therapeutic Goods Administration (Australia)

NEW 10th Annual American Association for Cancer Research Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research
October 22-25, 2011
Boston, United States

Visit our events page to see a complete list of events in the mammary cell community.

Chemist (STEMCELL Technologies) 

Research and Development Senior Technologist (STEMCELL Technologies)

Lab Technologist – Tissue Culture (Maternity Leave) (STEMCELL Technologies)

Research and Development Technologist, hPSC Media (STEMCELL Technologies)

Scientist (iPSC) (STEMCELL Technologies)

Postdoctoral Fellow (Roswell Park Cancer Institute)

Postdoctoral Fellow Position: Transcriptional/Epigenetic Gene Regulation and Breast Cancer/Stem Cell Biology (University of Cincinnati College of Medicine)

Laboratory Project Scientist (University of California, San Diego)

Senior Research Assistant (MD Anderson Cancer Center) 

Post-Doctoral Research Fellow (University of Ottawa)

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