Early onset and enhanced growth of autochthonous mammary carcinomas in C3-deficient Her2/neu transgenic mice.

ABSTRACT: Aside from its classical role in fighting infections, complement is an important, although poorly understood, component of the tumor microenvironment. In particular, the tumor growth-regulatory activities of complement remain under debate. To assess the role of the complement system in the progression of autochthonous mammary carcinomas, we have crossed complement component 3 (C3)-deficient (C3^-/- ) BALB/c male mice with BALB/c females expressing the activated rat Her2/neu oncogene (neuT). Although neuT transgenic mice develop spontaneous mammary cancers with 100% penetrance, a significantly shorter tumor latency (i.e., earlier onset of the first palpable tumor), a higher frequency of multiple tumors (multiplicity), and a dramatic increase in the tumor growth rate

SUBMITTER: Bandini S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3820812 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature