Loss of Igfbp7 causes precocious involution in lactating mouse mammary gland.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Insulin like growth factors (IGFs) and their binding proteins (IGFBPs) are secreted peptides that play major roles in regulating the normal development and maturation of mammary gland. While Igfbp7 has been shown to decrease breast tumor growth, its role in regulating the normal mammary gland development has not been studied. To this end, we generated Igfbp7-null mice and examined the development and maturation of mammary glands in the virgin, pregnant and lactating animals.

Results

We report here that loss of Igfbp7 significantly retards mammary gland development in the virgin animals. More significantly, the pregnant Igfpb7-null glands contained fewer alveolar structures and that during lactation these glands exhibit the morphological changes that are associated

SUBMITTER: Chatterjee S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3913705 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature