Health & Medicine
Cancer Research: Miniature Breast Cells Succesfully Grown In Petri Dish
Kathleen Lees
First Posted: Jun 12, 2015 03:05 PM EDT
Researchers have successfully grown miniature mammary glands from cultured breast epithelial cells, according to new findings published in the journal Development.
"This technological breakthrough provides the basis for many research projects, both those aimed to understand how breast cancer cells acquire aggressive traits, as well as to elucidate how adult stem cells function in normal regeneration," said Dr. Christina Scheel, of the Helmholtz Center in Munich, in a news release.
The researchers used healthy breast tissue from women undergoing aesthetic breast reduction, placing the cells in a transparent gel that helped stimulate the environment for how mammary glands develop during puberty.
As stem cells found in breasts continually remodel and renew the tissues to ensure milk production for offspring, the study's hope is to better understand how breast cancer starts and grows.
"We were able to demonstrate that increasing rigidity of the gel led to increased spreading of the cells, or, said differently, invasive growth. Similar behaviour was already observed in breast cancer cells," Scheel added. "Our results suggest that invasive growth in response to physical rigidity represents a normal process during mammary gland development that is exploited during tumor progression."
Breast cancer cells can adopt similar properties related to breasts stem cells due to their high turnover rate throughout life. With future studies, the researchers said they hope to identify how breast cancer cells acquire aggressive traits and mutations.
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TagsHealth, Human, Breasts, Breast Cancer, Tissue, Stem Cells, Petri Dish, Cancer, Research, Turnover ©2024 ScienceWorldReport.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The window to the world of science news.
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First Posted: Jun 12, 2015 03:05 PM EDT
Researchers have successfully grown miniature mammary glands from cultured breast epithelial cells, according to new findings published in the journal Development.
"This technological breakthrough provides the basis for many research projects, both those aimed to understand how breast cancer cells acquire aggressive traits, as well as to elucidate how adult stem cells function in normal regeneration," said Dr. Christina Scheel, of the Helmholtz Center in Munich, in a news release.
The researchers used healthy breast tissue from women undergoing aesthetic breast reduction, placing the cells in a transparent gel that helped stimulate the environment for how mammary glands develop during puberty.
As stem cells found in breasts continually remodel and renew the tissues to ensure milk production for offspring, the study's hope is to better understand how breast cancer starts and grows.
"We were able to demonstrate that increasing rigidity of the gel led to increased spreading of the cells, or, said differently, invasive growth. Similar behaviour was already observed in breast cancer cells," Scheel added. "Our results suggest that invasive growth in response to physical rigidity represents a normal process during mammary gland development that is exploited during tumor progression."
Breast cancer cells can adopt similar properties related to breasts stem cells due to their high turnover rate throughout life. With future studies, the researchers said they hope to identify how breast cancer cells acquire aggressive traits and mutations.
Related Articles
Soy Food Consumption Reduces Recurrence Of Breast Cancer
Overnight Fasting May Reduce the Risk of Breast Cancer in Women
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone