Histology and Transcriptome Profiles of the Mammary Gland across Critical Windows of Development in Sprague Dawley Rats.

ABSTRACT: Breast development occurs through well-defined stages representing 'windows of susceptibility' to adverse environmental exposures that potentially modify breast cancer risk. Systematic characterization of morphology and transcriptome during normal breast development lays the foundation of our understanding of cancer etiology. We examined mammary glands in female Sprague Dawley rats across six developmental stages - pre-pubertal, peri-pubertal, pubertal, lactation, adult parous and adult nulliparous. We investigated histology by Hematoxylin and Eosin and Mallory's Trichrome stain, proliferative and apoptotic rate by immunohistochemistry and whole-transcriptome by microarrays. We identified differentially expressed genes between adjacent developmental stages by linear models, underlying path

SUBMITTER: Gopalakrishnan K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6103804 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature