Fibroblast hierarchy dynamics during mammary gland morphogenesis and tumorigenesis.

ABSTRACT: Fibroblasts form a major component of the stroma in normal mammary tissue and breast tumors. Here, we have applied longitudinal single-cell transcriptome profiling of >45,000 fibroblasts in the mouse mammary gland across five different developmental stages and during oncogenesis. In the normal gland, diverse stromal populations were resolved, including lobular-like fibroblasts, committed preadipocytes and adipogenesis-regulatory, as well as cycling fibroblasts in puberty and pregnancy. These specialized cell types appear to emerge from CD34^high mesenchymal progenitor cells, accompanied by elevated Hedgehog signaling. During late tumorigenesis, heterogeneous cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) were identified in mouse models of breast cancer, including a population of CD34^-

SUBMITTER: Pascual R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12130467 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature