BCL11B Drives Human Mammary Stem Cell Self-Renewal In Vitro by Inhibiting Basal Differentiation.

ABSTRACT: The epithelial compartment of the mammary gland contains basal and luminal cell lineages, as well as stem and progenitor cells that reside upstream in the differentiation hierarchy. Stem and progenitor cell differentiation is regulated to maintain adult tissue and mediate expansion during pregnancy and lactation. The genetic factors that regulate the transition of cells between differentiation states remain incompletely understood. Here, we present a genome-scale method to discover genes driving cell-state specification. Applying this method, we identify a transcription factor, BCL11B, which drives stem cell self-renewal in vitro, by inhibiting differentiation into the basal lineage. To validate BCL11B's functional role, we use two-dimensional colony-forming and three-dimensional tissue di

SUBMITTER: Miller DH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5918530 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature