| First Author | Rucker EB 3rd | Year | 2011 |
| Journal | Genesis | Volume | 49 |
| Issue | 1 | Pages | 24-35 |
| PubMed ID | 21254334 | Mgi Jnum | J:167975 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:4881563 | Doi | 10.1002/dvg.20691 |
| Citation | Rucker EB 3rd, et al. (2011) Forced involution of the functionally differentiated mammary gland by overexpression of the pro-apoptotic protein bax. Genesis 49(1):24-35 |
| abstractText | The mammary gland is a developmentally dynamic, hormone-responsive organ that undergoes proliferation and differentiation within the secretory epithelial compartment during pregnancy. The epithelia are maintained by pro-survival signals (e.g., Stat5, Akt1) during lactation, but undergo apoptosis during involution through inactivation of cell survival pathways and upregulation of pro-apoptotic proteins. To assess if the survival signals in the functionally differentiated mammary epithelial cells can override a pro-apoptotic signal, we generated transgenic mice that express Bax under the whey acidic protein (WAP) promoter. WAP-Bax females exhibited a lactation defect and were unable to nourish their offspring. Mammary glands demonstrated: (1) a reduction in epithelial content, (2) hallmark signs of mitochondria-mediated cell death, (3) an increase in apoptotic cells by TUNEL assay, and (4) precocious Stat3 activation. This suggests that upregulation of a single pro-apoptotic factor of the Bcl-2 family is sufficient to initiate apoptosis of functionally differentiated mammary epithelial cells in vivo. genesis, 2011. (c) 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc. |
