Mammary stem cells and the differentiation hierarchy: current status and perspectives

The mammary epithelium is highly responsive to local and systemic signals, which orchestrate morphogenesis of the ductal tree during puberty and pregnancy. Based on transplantation and lineage tracing studies, a hierarchy of stem and progenitor cells has been shown to exist among the mammary epithelium. Lineage tracing has highlighted the existence of bipotent mammary stem cells (MaSCs) in situ as well as long-lived unipotent cells that drive morphogenesis and homeostasis of the ductal tree. Moreover, there is accumulating evidence for a heterogeneous MaSC compartment comprising fetal MaSCs, slow-cycling cells, and both long-term and short-term repopulating cells. In parallel, diverse luminal progenitor…

• CR
  Cancer Research UK
• NI
  National Institute for Health and Care Research
• BC
  Breast Cancer Campaign
• UO
  University of Cambridge
• AC
  Australian Cancer Research Foundation
• NB
  National Breast Cancer Foundation
• HW
  Hutchison Whampoa Limited
• MR
  Medical Research Council
• NH
  National Health and Medical Research Council
• NC
  NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre