Parity-induced changes to mammary epithelial cells control NKT cell expansion and mammary oncogenesis.

ABSTRACT: Pregnancy reprograms mammary epithelial cells (MECs) to control their responses to pregnancy hormone re-exposure and carcinoma progression. However, the influence of pregnancy on the mammary microenvironment is less clear. Here, we used single-cell RNA sequencing to profile the composition of epithelial and non-epithelial cells in mammary tissue from nulliparous and parous female mice. Our analysis indicates an expansion of γδ natural killer T-like immune cells (NKTs) following pregnancy and upregulation of immune signaling molecules in post-pregnancy MECs. We show that expansion of NKTs following pregnancy is due to elevated expression of the antigen-presenting molecule CD1d on MECs. Loss of CD1d expression on post-pregnancy MECs, or overall lack of activated NKTs, results in mammary onco

SUBMITTER: Hanasoge Somasundara AV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8719356 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature