Mammary stem cells and cancer: roles of Wnt signaling in plain view.
The likely roles of Wnt signaling in regulating mammary stem cell behavior have been much discussed, in part because they may underlie the oncogenic effects of Wnt signaling in mammary tissue. Two recent papers add important data to this field. One tests directly the effects of purified Wnt protein on mouse mammary stem cells in culture and finds a specific increase in the proportion of cells with self-renewing stem cell phenotypes. The second identifies a novel target gene of canonical Wnt signaling that may be expressed in stem cells and is induced in both mouse and human mammary tumors associated with Wnt pathway activation.
Many
Alexander M
AM
Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA.
Brown
Anthony M C
AM
D000818:Animals; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism*; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D002461:Cell Line, Transformed; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015674:Mammary Neoplasms, Animal / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000378:metabolism; D014157:Transcription Factors; D051153:Wnt Proteins / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D060449:Wnt Signaling Pathway
D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; C531176:LBH protein, human; C428223:Lbh protein, mouse; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D015534:Trans-Activators; D014157:Transcription Factors; D051153:Wnt Proteins