Gpr177 deficiency impairs mammary development and prohibits Wnt-induced tumorigenesis.

ABSTRACT: Aberrant regulation of the Wnt pathway, essential for various developmental processes, is tightly linked to human breast cancers. By hijacking this evolutionary conserved signaling pathway, cancer cells acquire sustaining proliferation ability, leading to modification of physiologic properties necessary for tumor initiation and progression. An enormous wealth of knowledge on the importance of Wnt signaling in breast development and cancer has been obtained, but the cell types responsible for production of this proliferative signal operating within normal and malignant tissues remains poorly understood. Here we report that Wnt production mediated by Gpr177 is essential for mammary morphogenesis. The loss of Gpr177 interferes with mammary stem cells, leading to deficiencies in cell prolifera

SUBMITTER: Maruyama EO 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3574013 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature