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Chung WC, Egan SE, Xu K. A tumor-suppressive function for Notch3 in the parous mammary gland. Development 2022; 149:277236. [DOI: 10.1242/dev.200913] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2022] [Accepted: 09/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Notch3 promotes mammary luminal cell specification and forced Notch3 activation can induce mammary tumor formation. However, recent studies suggest a tumor-suppressive role for Notch3. Here, we report on Notch3 expression and functional analysis in the mouse mammary gland. Notch3 is expressed in the luminal compartment throughout mammary gland development, but switches to basal cells with initiation of post-lactational involution. Deletion of Notch3 caused a decrease of Notch activation in luminal cells and diminished luminal progenitors at puberty, as well as reduced alveolar progenitors during pregnancy. Parous Notch3−/− mammary glands developed hyperplasia with accumulation of CD24hiCD49flo cells, some of which progressed to invasive tumors with luminal features. Notch3 deletion abolished Notch activation in basal cells during involution, accompanied by altered apoptosis and reduced brown adipocytes, leading to expansion of parity-identified mammary epithelial cells (PI-MECs). Interestingly, the postpartum microenvironment is required for the stem cell activity of Notch3−/− PI-MECs. Finally, high expression of NOTCH3 is associated with prolonged survival in patients with luminal breast cancer. These results highlight an unexpected tumor-suppressive function for Notch3 in the parous mammary gland through restriction of PI-MEC expansion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen-Cheng Chung
- Cancer Center and Research Institute, University of Mississippi Medical Center 1 , Jackson, MS 39216, USA
| | - Sean E. Egan
- Program in Cell Biology, The Peter Gilgan Center for Research and Learning, The Hospital for Sick Children 2 , Toronto, ON M5G 0A4 , Canada
| | - Keli Xu
- Cancer Center and Research Institute, University of Mississippi Medical Center 1 , Jackson, MS 39216, USA
- University of Mississippi Medical Center 3 Department of Cell and Molecular Biology , , Jackson, MS 39216, USA
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Nguyen C, Nguyen JPT, Modi AP, Ahmad I, Petrova SC, Ferrell SD, Wilhelm SR, Ye Y, Schaue D, Barsky SH. Use of constitutive and inducible oncogene-containing iPSCs as surrogates for transgenic mice to study breast oncogenesis. Stem Cell Res Ther 2021; 12:301. [PMID: 34044885 PMCID: PMC8162012 DOI: 10.1186/s13287-021-02285-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2020] [Accepted: 03/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Powerful constitutive and inducible transgenic / bitransgenic / tritransgenic murine models of breast cancer have been used over the past two decades to shed light on the molecular mechanisms by which the given transgenic oncogenes have interacted with other cellular genes and set in motion breast cancer initiation and progression. However, these transgenic models, as in vivo models only, are expensive and restrictive in the opportunities they provide to manipulate the experimental variables that would enable a better understanding of the molecular events related to initial transformation and the target cell being transformed. METHODS To overcome some of these limitations, we derived oncogene-containing induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) clones from tail vein fibroblasts of these transgenic mice and manipulated them both in vitro and in vivo in non-transgenic background mice. We created the iPSC clones with a relatively low M.O.I, producing retroviral integrations which averaged only 1 to 2 sites per retroviral plasmid construct used. RESULTS Most iPSC clones derived from each group displayed an essentially normal murine karyotype, strong expression of the exogenous reprogrammable genes and significant expression of characteristic endogenous murine surface stem cell markers including SSEA-1 (CD15), PECAM-1 (CD31), Ep-Cam (CD326), and Nectin (CD112), but no expression of their transgene. A majority (75%) of iPSC clones displayed a normal murine karyotype but 25% exhibited a genomically unstable karyotype. However, even these later clones exhibited stable and characteristic iPSC properties. When injected orthotopically, select iPSC clones, either constitutive or inducible, no longer expressed their exogenous pluripotency reprogramming factors but expressed their oncogenic transgene (PyVT or ErbB2) and participated in both breast ontogenesis and subsequent oncogenesis. When injected non-orthotopically or when differentiated in vitro along several different non-mammary lineages of differentiation, the iPSC clones failed to do so. Although many clones developed anticipated teratomas, select iPSC clones under the appropriate constitutive or inducible conditions exhibited both breast ontogenesis and oncogenesis through the same stages as exhibited by their transgenic murine parents and, as such, represent transgenic surrogates. CONCLUSIONS The iPSC clones offer a number of advantages over transgenic mice including cost, the ability to manipulate and tag in vitro, and create an in vitro model of breast ontogeny and oncogenesis that can be used to gain additional insights into the differentiated status of the target cell which is susceptible to transformation. In addition, the use of these oncogene-containing iPSC clones can be used in chemopreventive studies of breast cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine Nguyen
- Cancer Center and Institute for Personalized Medicine, California University of Science and Medicine (CUSM), 1501 Violet Street, Colton, CA, 92324, USA
| | - Julie P T Nguyen
- Cancer Center and Institute for Personalized Medicine, California University of Science and Medicine (CUSM), 1501 Violet Street, Colton, CA, 92324, USA
| | - Arnav P Modi
- Cancer Center and Institute for Personalized Medicine, California University of Science and Medicine (CUSM), 1501 Violet Street, Colton, CA, 92324, USA
| | - Ihsaan Ahmad
- Cancer Center and Institute for Personalized Medicine, California University of Science and Medicine (CUSM), 1501 Violet Street, Colton, CA, 92324, USA
| | - Sarah C Petrova
- Cancer Center and Institute for Personalized Medicine, California University of Science and Medicine (CUSM), 1501 Violet Street, Colton, CA, 92324, USA
| | - Stuart D Ferrell
- Cancer Center and Institute for Personalized Medicine, California University of Science and Medicine (CUSM), 1501 Violet Street, Colton, CA, 92324, USA
| | - Sabrina R Wilhelm
- Cancer Center and Institute for Personalized Medicine, California University of Science and Medicine (CUSM), 1501 Violet Street, Colton, CA, 92324, USA
| | - Yin Ye
- Cancer Center and Institute for Personalized Medicine, California University of Science and Medicine (CUSM), 1501 Violet Street, Colton, CA, 92324, USA
| | - Dorthe Schaue
- Department of Radiation Oncology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1714, USA
| | - Sanford H Barsky
- Cancer Center and Institute for Personalized Medicine, California University of Science and Medicine (CUSM), 1501 Violet Street, Colton, CA, 92324, USA.
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Petrova SC, Ahmad I, Nguyen C, Ferrell SD, Wilhelm SR, Ye Y, Barsky SH. Regulation of breast cancer oncogenesis by the cell of origin's differentiation state. Oncotarget 2020; 11:3832-3848. [PMID: 33196707 PMCID: PMC7597414 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.27783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2020] [Accepted: 09/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Human breast cancer which affects 1/8 women is rare at a cellular level. Even in the setting of germline BRCA1/BRCA2, which is present in all breast cells, solitary cancers or cancers arising at only several foci occur. The overwhelming majority of breast cells (109-1012 cells) resist transformation. Our hypothesis to explain this rareness of transformation is that mammary oncogenesis is regulated by the cell of origin's critical window of differentiation so that target cells outside of this window cannot transform. Our novel hypothesis differs from both the multi-hit theory of carcinogenesis and the stem/progenitor cell compartmental theory of tumorigenesis and utilizes two well established murine transgenic models of breast oncogenesis, the FVB/N-Tg (MMTV-PyVT)634Mul/J and the FVB-Tg (MMTV-ErbB2) NK1Mul/J. Tail vein fibroblasts from each of these transgenics were used to generate iPSCs. When select clones were injected into cleared mammary fat pads, but not into non-orthotopic sites of background mice, they exhibited mammary ontogenesis and oncogenesis with the expression of their respective transgenes. iPSC clones, when differentiated along different non-mammary lineages in vitro, were also not able to exhibit either mammary ontogenesis or oncogenesis in vivo. Therefore, in vitro and in vivo regulation of differentiation is an important determinant of breast cancer oncogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah C Petrova
- Cancer Center and Institute for Personalized Medicine, California University of Science and Medicine, Colton, CA 92324, USA.,These authors contributed equally to this work
| | - Ihsaan Ahmad
- Cancer Center and Institute for Personalized Medicine, California University of Science and Medicine, Colton, CA 92324, USA.,These authors contributed equally to this work
| | - Christine Nguyen
- Cancer Center and Institute for Personalized Medicine, California University of Science and Medicine, Colton, CA 92324, USA
| | - Stuart D Ferrell
- Cancer Center and Institute for Personalized Medicine, California University of Science and Medicine, Colton, CA 92324, USA
| | - Sabrina R Wilhelm
- Cancer Center and Institute for Personalized Medicine, California University of Science and Medicine, Colton, CA 92324, USA
| | - Yin Ye
- Cancer Center and Institute for Personalized Medicine, California University of Science and Medicine, Colton, CA 92324, USA
| | - Sanford H Barsky
- Cancer Center and Institute for Personalized Medicine, California University of Science and Medicine, Colton, CA 92324, USA
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Amphiregulin regulates proliferation and migration of HER2-positive breast cancer cells. Cell Oncol (Dordr) 2017; 41:159-168. [PMID: 29181633 DOI: 10.1007/s13402-017-0363-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/08/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE Tumor initiation and progression rely on cellular proliferation and migration. Many factors are involved in these processes, including growth factors. Amphiregulin (AREG) is involved in normal mammary development and the development of estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer. The aim of this project was to determine if AREG is involved in the proliferation and progression of HER2-positive breast cancer. METHODS Mouse cell lines MMTV-neu, HC-11 and COMMA-D, as well as human cell lines MCF10A, SKBR3, HCC1954 and BT474 were used. Real-time PCR was used to quantify AREG expression and neutralizing antibodies were used to reduce the autocrine/paracrine effects of AREG. Transfections using siRNA and shRNA were used to knockdown AREG expression in the cancer cell lines. Free-floating sphere formation, colony forming, scratch wound and Transwell assays were used to assess the proliferation, tumor forming and migratory capacities of transfected cancer cells. RESULTS We found AREG expression in both normal epithelial cell lines and tumor-derived cell lines. Knockdown of AREG protein expression resulted in reduced sphere sizes and reduced sphere numbers in both mouse and human cancer cells that overexpress erbB2/HER2. AREG was found to be involved in cancer cell migration and invasion. In addition, we found that AREG expression knockdown resulted in different migration capacities in normal and erbB2/HER2 overexpressing cancer cells. CONCLUSIONS Based on our results we conclude that AREG is involved in regulating the proliferation and migration of erbB2/HER2-positive breast cancer cells.
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Schmucker HS, Park JP, Coissieux MM, Bentires-Alj M, Feltus FA, Booth BW. RNA Expression Profiling Reveals Differentially Regulated Growth Factor and Receptor Expression in Redirected Cancer Cells. Stem Cells Dev 2017; 26:646-655. [DOI: 10.1089/scd.2016.0340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Hannah S. Schmucker
- Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina
| | - Jang Pyo Park
- Institute for Biological Interfaces of Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina
| | - Marie-May Coissieux
- Friedrich-Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Basel, Switzerland
- Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Mohamed Bentires-Alj
- Friedrich-Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Basel, Switzerland
- Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - F. Alex Feltus
- Department of Genetics and Biochemistry, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina
| | - Brian W. Booth
- Institute for Biological Interfaces of Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina
- Department of Bioengineering, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina
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Validation of an in vitro model of erbB2(+) cancer cell redirection. In Vitro Cell Dev Biol Anim 2015; 51:776-86. [PMID: 25898824 DOI: 10.1007/s11626-015-9889-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2014] [Accepted: 03/08/2015] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Overexpression of the oncoprotein erbB2/HER2 is present in 20-30% of breast cancer patients and inversely correlates with patient survival. Reports have demonstrated the deterministic power of the mammary microenvironment where the normal mammary microenvironment redirects cells of non-mammary origin or tumor-derived cells to adopt a mammary phenotype in an in vivo model. This phenomenon is termed tumor cell redirection. Tumor-derived cells that overexpress the erbB2 oncoprotein lose their tumor-forming capacity in this model. In this model, phosphorylation of erbB2 is attenuated thus reducing the tumor cell's tumor-forming potential. In this report, we describe our results using an in vitro model based on the in vivo model mentioned previously. Tumor-derived cells are mixed in predetermined ratios with normal mammary epithelial cells prior to seeding in vitro. In this in vitro model, the tumor-derived cells are redirected as determined by attenuated phosphorylation of the receptor and reduced sphere and colony formation. These results match those observed in the in vivo model. This in vitro model will allow expanded experimental options in the future to determine additional aspects of tumor cell redirection that can be translated to other types of cancer.
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The role of Tcfap2c in tumorigenesis and cancer growth in an activated Neu model of mammary carcinogenesis. Oncogene 2015; 34:6105-14. [PMID: 25772240 DOI: 10.1038/onc.2015.59] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2014] [Revised: 11/17/2014] [Accepted: 01/21/2015] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
TFAP2C/AP-2γ influences development of the mammary gland and regulates patterns of gene expression in luminal and HER2-amplified breast cancer. The roles of TFAP2C in mammary gland tumorigenesis and in pathways critical to cancer progression remain poorly understood. To gain greater insight into oncogenic mechanisms regulated by TFAP2C, we examined mammary tumorigenesis in MMTV-Neu transgenic female mice with or without conditional knockout (KO) of Tcfap2c, the mouse homolog of TFAP2C. Loss of Tcfap2c increased the latency of tumorigenesis and tumors that formed demonstrated reduced proliferative index and increased apoptosis. In addition, tumors formed in Tcfap2c KO animals had a significant reduction in Egfr levels without a change in the expression of the Neu oncogene. The MMneu-flAP2C cell line was established from tumor tissue derived from MMTV-Neu/Tcfap2c(L/L) control animals and parallel cell lines with and without expression of Tcfap2c were created by transduction with adenovirus-empty and adenovirus-Cre, respectively. KO of Tcfap2c in vitro reduced activated phosphorylated-Erk, decreased cell viability, repressed tumor growth and was associated with attenuation of Egfr expression. Chromatin immunoprecipitation and direct sequencing and expression analysis confirmed that Egfr was a Tcfap2c target gene in murine, as well as human, mammary carcinoma cells. Furthermore, decreased viability of mammary cancer cells was directly related to Egfr functional blockade. We conclude that TFAP2C regulates tumorigenesis, cell growth and survival in HER2-amplified breast cancer through transcriptional regulation of EGFR. The findings have important implications for targeting the EGFR pathway in breast cancer.
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Owens TW, Rogers RL, Best S, Ledger A, Mooney AM, Ferguson A, Shore P, Swarbrick A, Ormandy CJ, Simpson PT, Carroll JS, Visvader J, Naylor MJ. Runx2 is a novel regulator of mammary epithelial cell fate in development and breast cancer. Cancer Res 2014; 74:5277-5286. [PMID: 25056120 DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.can-14-0053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Regulators of differentiated cell fate can offer targets for managing cancer development and progression. Here, we identify Runx2 as a new regulator of epithelial cell fate in mammary gland development and breast cancer. Runx2 is expressed in the epithelium of pregnant mice in a strict temporally and hormonally regulated manner. During pregnancy, Runx2 genetic deletion impaired alveolar differentiation in a manner that disrupted alveolar progenitor cell populations. Conversely, exogenous transgenic expression of Runx2 in mammary epithelial cells blocked milk production, suggesting that the decrease in endogenous Runx2 observed late in pregnancy is necessary for full differentiation. In addition, overexpression of Runx2 drove epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition-like changes in normal mammary epithelial cells, whereas Runx2 deletion in basal breast cancer cells inhibited cellular phenotypes associated with tumorigenesis. Notably, loss of Runx2 expression increased tumor latency and enhanced overall survival in a mouse model of breast cancer, with Runx2-deficient tumors exhibiting reduced cell proliferation. Together, our results establish a previously unreported function for Runx2 in breast cancer that may offer a novel generalized route for therapeutic interventions. Cancer Res; 74(18); 5277-86. ©2014 AACR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas W Owens
- Discipline of Physiology & Bosch Institute, School of Medical Sciences, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Renee L Rogers
- Kinghorn Cancer Centre, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Darlinghurst, NSW 2010, Australia
| | - Sarah Best
- The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia.,Department of Medical Biology, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - Anita Ledger
- Kinghorn Cancer Centre, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Darlinghurst, NSW 2010, Australia
| | - Anne-Marie Mooney
- Discipline of Physiology & Bosch Institute, School of Medical Sciences, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Alison Ferguson
- Discipline of Physiology & Bosch Institute, School of Medical Sciences, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Paul Shore
- Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PT, UK
| | - Alexander Swarbrick
- Kinghorn Cancer Centre, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Darlinghurst, NSW 2010, Australia.,St Vincent's Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Christopher J Ormandy
- Kinghorn Cancer Centre, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Darlinghurst, NSW 2010, Australia.,St Vincent's Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Peter T Simpson
- The University of Queensland, UQ Centre for Clinical Research (UQCCR), Herston, Queensland 4029, Australia
| | - Jason S Carroll
- Cancer Research UK, Cambridge Research Institute, Cambridge, CB2 0RE, UK
| | - Jane Visvader
- The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia.,Department of Medical Biology, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - Matthew J Naylor
- Discipline of Physiology & Bosch Institute, School of Medical Sciences, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.,Kinghorn Cancer Centre, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Darlinghurst, NSW 2010, Australia.,Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PT, UK
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Chang THT, Kunasegaran K, Tarulli GA, De Silva D, Voorhoeve PM, Pietersen AM. New insights into lineage restriction of mammary gland epithelium using parity-identified mammary epithelial cells. Breast Cancer Res 2014; 16:R1. [PMID: 24398145 PMCID: PMC3978646 DOI: 10.1186/bcr3593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2013] [Accepted: 12/10/2013] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction Parity-identified mammary epithelial cells (PI-MECs) are an interesting cellular subset because they survive involution and are a presumptive target for transformation by human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)/neu in mammary tumors. Depending on the type of assay, PI-MECs have been designated lobule-restricted progenitors or multipotent stem/progenitor cells. PI-MECs were reported to be part of the basal population of mammary epithelium based on flow cytometry. We investigated the cellular identity and lineage potential of PI-MECs in intact mammary glands. Methods We performed a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the contribution of PI-MECs to mammary epithelial cell lineages in pregnant and involuted mammary glands by immunohistochemistry, fluorescence-activated cells sorting (FACS), and quantitative polymerase chain reaction. PI-MECs were labeled by the activation of Whey Acidic Protein (WAP)-Cre during pregnancy that results in permanent expression of yellow fluorescent protein. Results After involution, PI-MECs are present exclusively in the luminal layer of mammary ducts. During pregnancy, PI-MECs contribute to the luminal layer but not the basal layer of alveolar lobules. Strikingly, whereas all luminal estrogen receptor (ER)-negative cells in an alveolus can be derived from PI-MECs, the alveolar ER-positive cells are unlabeled and reminiscent of Notch2-traced L cells. Notably, we observed a significant population of unlabeled alveolar progenitors that resemble PI-MECs based on transcriptional and histological analysis. Conclusions Our demonstration that PI-MECs are luminal cells underscores that not only basal cells display multi-lineage potential in transplantation assays. However, the lineage potential of PI-MECs in unperturbed mammary glands is remarkably restricted to luminal ER-negative cells of the secretory alveolar lineage. The identification of an unlabeled but functionally similar population of luminal alveolar progenitor cells raises the question of whether PI-MECs are a unique population or the result of stochastic labeling. Interestingly, even when all luminal ER-negative cells of an alveolus are PI-MEC-derived, the basal cells and hormone-sensing cells are derived from a different source, indicating that cooperative outgrowth of cells from different lineages is common in alveologenesis.
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