Prolactin Alters the Mammary Epithelial Hierarchy, Increasing Progenitors and Facilitating Ovarian Steroid Action.

ABSTRACT: Hormones drive mammary development and function and play critical roles in breast cancer. Epidemiologic studies link prolactin (PRL) to increased risk for aggressive cancers that express estrogen receptor α (ERα). However, in contrast to ovarian steroids, PRL actions on the mammary gland outside of pregnancy are poorly understood. We employed the transgenic NRL-PRL model to examine the effects of PRL alone and with defined estrogen/progesterone exposure on stem/progenitor activity and regulatory networks that drive epithelial differentiation. PRL increased progenitors and modulated transcriptional programs, even without ovarian steroids, and with steroids further raised stem cell activity associated with elevated canonical Wnt signaling. However, despite facilitating some steroid actions,

SUBMITTER: O'Leary KA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5639259 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature