title: Plasticity of the response of fetal mouse fibroblast to lactation hormones.
abstract: In the work described in this article, mouse fetal fibroblasts were treated with three lactation hormones (insulin, progesterone and oxytocin) and the cellular changes were analyzed by RT-PCR-Southern hybridization. A gene-expression pattern characteristic of mammary epithelioid cells was induced by the hormones, as indicated by expression of the marker genes alpha-casein and beta-casein. Two mammary epithelial cell-specific gene expression vectors were constructed with bovine alpha-s1-casein or ovine beta-casein gene promoters directing an EGFP reporter gene. Transient expression of the EGFP gene was observed in cells treated by the hormones but not in control cells. Cell morphology also changed after insulin and oxytocin treatments; the cells resembled epithelial cells rather than fibroblasts. Our results suggest that mouse fetus fibroblasts can be partially induced by lactation hormones to resemble mammary epithelial cells. This procedure might help to increase the efficiency of gene targeting in studies of mammary gland bioreactors.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Science, 100080 Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Sen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jingpu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yanyan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Geng
authors.forename: Shaoxia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019149:Bioreactors; D002364:Caseins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D005333:Fetus / Q000166:cytology*; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000187:drug effects; D006728:Hormones / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007328:Insulin / Q000494:pharmacology; D007774:Lactation; D008321:Mammary Glands, Animal / Q000166:cytology; D051379:Mice; D010121:Oxytocin / Q000494:pharmacology; D011374:Progesterone / Q000494:pharmacology; D019076:Transgenes
chemical_list: D002364:Caseins; D006728:Hormones; D007328:Insulin; D011374:Progesterone; D010121:Oxytocin