Ductal keratin 15⁺ luminal progenitors in normal breast exhibit a basal-like breast cancer transcriptomic signature.

ABSTRACT: Normal breast luminal epithelial progenitors have been implicated as cell of origin in basal-like breast cancer, but their anatomical localization remains understudied. Here, we combine collection under the microscope of organoids from reduction mammoplasties and single-cell mRNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) of FACS-sorted luminal epithelial cells with multicolor imaging to profile ducts and terminal duct lobular units (TDLUs) and compare them with breast cancer subtypes. Unsupervised clustering reveals eleven distinct clusters and a differentiation trajectory starting with keratin 15⁺ (K15⁺) progenitors enriched in ducts. Spatial mapping of luminal progenitors is confirmed at the protein level by staining with critical duct markers. Comparison of the gene expression profil

SUBMITTER: Kohler KT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9276673 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature