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About the Authors:
Mitsutaka Kadota
Affiliation: Laboratory of Population Genetics, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
Howard H. Yang
Affiliation: Laboratory of Population Genetics, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
Bianca Gomez
Affiliation: Laboratory of Population Genetics, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
Misako Sato
Affiliation: Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Genetics, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
Robert J. Clifford
Affiliation: Laboratory of Population Genetics, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
Daoud Meerzaman
Affiliation: Laboratory of Population Genetics, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
Barbara K. Dunn
Affiliation: Basic Prevention Science Research Group, Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
Lalage M. Wakefield
Affiliation: Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Genetics, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
Maxwell P. Lee
* E-mail: [email protected]
Affiliation: Laboratory of Population Genetics, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
Introduction
Human breast cancer is thought to evolve via sequential genetic alterations from benign hyperplasia of mammary duct epithelial cells, through atypical ductal hyperplasia, to ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), invasive tumor confined to the breast, lymph node involvement, and eventually metastases to distant organs. A powerful cell culture model system for studying breast cancer progression is the MCF10A series of cell lines [1], [2], [3]. This system consists of multiple cancer cell lines derived from an immortalized mammary epithelial cell (MEC) line; these isogenic cell lines represent progression through stages of breast tumorigenesis in much the same manner as the in vivo human breast lesions reflect such a carcinogenic process. MCF10A is an immortalized mammary epithelial cell line; the premalignant cell line MCF10AT was generated by HRAS transformation of MCF10A; MCF10CA1h and MCF10CA1a, both derived from MCF10AT xenografts, form well-differentiated and poorly-differentiated malignant tumors in their respective xenograft models.
The MCF10A series of cell lines has frequently been used to study transformation activities of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. Recent studies include the investigation of the effects of...