title: The role of CSF-1 in normal and neoplastic breast physiology.
abstract: Colony stimulating factor (CSF-1) and its receptor (CSF-1R, product of c-fms proto-oncogene) were initially implicated as essential for normal monocyte development as well as for trophoblastic implantation. However, recent findings have suggested that CSF-1 and CSF-1R might have additional roles in mammary gland development during pregnancy and lactation. Studies with osteopetrotic (op-/op-) mice, which bear a specific mutation that inactivates the CSF-1 gene, demonstrated that op-/op- mothers are incapable of normal milk production due to the incomplete development of their mammary glands during pregnancy. Also, significant increases in the levels of CSF-1 and CSF-1R proteins are observed in the epithelial cells of mammary gland during pregnancy and lactation. In vitro studies investigating the effect of the three major lactogenic hormones (prolactin, insulin, and glucocorticoids) on the expression of CSF-1 and CSF-1R have demonstrated that expression of CSF-1 can be regulated by prolactin and insulin whereas CSF-1R expression is regulated by glucocorticoids. This apparent role for CSF-1/CSF-1R in normal mammary gland development is very intriguing because this receptor/ligand pair has also been found to be important in the biology of breast cancer, where they regulate tumor cell invasion by a urokinase-dependent mechanism. This review aims to summarize recent findings on the role of CSF-1 and its receptor in normal and neoplastic mammary development which may elucidate potential relationships of growth factor-induced biological changes in the breast during pregnancy and tumor progression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Therapeutic Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8040, USA. eva.sapi@yale.edu
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sapi
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Kacinski
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001940:Breast / Q000502:physiology*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007774:Lactation / Q000502:physiology; D016173:Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor / Q000502:physiology*; D008321:Mammary Glands, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D015674:Mammary Neoplasms, Animal / Q000503:physiopathology*; D051379:Mice; D011247:Pregnancy; D000090063:Proto-Oncogene Mas; D016186:Receptor, Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: C000715470:MAS1 protein, human; D000090063:Proto-Oncogene Mas; D016173:Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor; D016186:Receptor, Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor