| First Author | Aikawa S | Year | 2020 |
| Journal | Reproduction | Volume | 159 |
| Issue | 6 | Pages | 719-731 |
| PubMed ID | 32213656 | Mgi Jnum | J:303277 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:6507329 | Doi | 10.1530/REP-20-0108 |
| Citation | Aikawa S, et al. (2020) Scribble promotes alveologenesis in the pregnant mammary gland for milk production. Reproduction 159(6):719-731 |
| abstractText | Mammary glands are comprised of ducts and terminal lobules that form tree-like structures. Luminal epithelial cells in these lobules undergo differentiation into alveolar cells in pregnancy to support milk production. This study reveals that Scribble (SCRIB), a scaffold protein expressed in progesterone receptor (PGR)-positive cells, plays a critical role in mammary gland alveologenesis in mice. We conditionally deleted Scrib using a Pgr-Cre driver. PGR is heterogeneously expressed throughout the luminal epithelium. Scrib loss in mammary glands by Pgr-Cre (Scribf/fPgrCre/+) shows inefficient alveologenesis and terminal end bud (TEB)-like morphology during pregnancy, resulting in poor milk production and subsequent death of pups after delivery. The differentiation of PGR-positive epithelial cells into Elf5-expressing alveolar cells is defective in Scribf/fPgrCre/+ mice. These changes are reflected in reduced activation of JAK2 and PAK1, resulting in downregulation of pSTAT5, a critical transcriptional factor for alveologenesis. These results provide evidence that SCRIB impacts PGR-positive cell lineage during alveologenesis, which impacts milk production and the health of offspring. |
