Cell fate takes a slug in BRCA1-associated breast cancer
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* Corresponding author: Geoffrey J Lindeman lindeman@wehi.edu.au
1 Stem Cells and Cancer Division, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, 1G Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
2 Familial Cancer Centre, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Grattan Street, Parkville, VIC 3050, Australia
3 Department of Medicine, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
4 Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
Breast Cancer Research 2011, 13:306 doi:10.1186/bcr2840
Published: 6 April 2011Abstract
Understanding why BRCA1 mutation carriers have a predilection for developing clinically aggressive basal-like breast tumors could inform the development of targeted treatment or prevention strategies. Analysis of both mouse and human mammary epithelial cells has identified a role for BRCA1 in orchestrating differentiation. The ability to isolate discrete epithelial subpopulations from mammary tissue has recently directed attention to luminal progenitor cells - the descendants of mammary stem cells - as the likely 'cells-of-origin' in BRCA1-associated breast cancer. A new publication has confirmed the importance of aberrant luminal cells as key culprits and provided insights on how BRCA1 haploinsufficiency biases luminal cells toward a basal-like fate through aberrant expression of the transcription factor SLUG.