title: The Cleared Mammary Fat Pad Transplantation Assay for Mammary Epithelial Organogenesis.
abstract: Cleared mammary fat pad (MFP) transplantation has been a standard technique for studies of mammary development and cancer for several decades. The mammary gland is comprised of several fundamental components: The epithelial compartment contains basal/myoepithelial cells and luminal cells, and the stromal compartment (called the MFP) contains adipocytes, smooth muscle cells, fibroblasts, and immune cells. In 3- to 4-wk-old female mice, the mammary epithelium is concentrated very close to the nipple and has not yet grown beyond the mammary lymph node to penetrate the bulk of the MFP. This developmental feature provides an anatomical fixed point, and enables one to cut away the portion of the MFP from the nipple to the lymph node, leaving behind the majority of the MFP free of epithelium. The "cleared" MFP can serve as a supportive native microenvironment fully sufficient for the organogenesis of injected donor epithelium. Normal mammary epithelial donor cells will produce histologically and functionally normal mammary ductal epithelium several weeks posttransplant, with the exception that the ducts will not be connected to the nipple. The assay described here provides a powerful platform for assessing the developmental and tumorigenic potential of engineered cells of interest.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Biomedical Sciences Program, University of California, San Francisco, California 94143;
authors.forename: Devon A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Lawson
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Biomedical Sciences Program, University of California, San Francisco, California 94143;
authors.forename: Zena
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Werb
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095;
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zong
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095; Department of Urology, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095; Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095; Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095.
authors.forename: Andrew S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Goldstein
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D063646:Carcinogenesis; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D042361:Mammary Glands, Human / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development*; D051379:Mice; D023421:Models, Animal; D038081:Organogenesis; D014180:Transplantation / Q000379:methods*