Novel method grows normal human breast tissues in vivo.

2003 FEB 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers have developed a new method for growing normal human breast tissues in mice.

They described "a novel system for studying the growth of normal human mammary epithelium in vivo as grafts in athymic nude mice. The key feature of this model is reconstitution of the epithelial-stromal interactions required for normal growth and differentiation of the human mammary epithelium, which produces ducts that are comparable to those in the normal human mammary gland."

"Human breast epithelial organoids were combined with mammary fibroblasts from mouse or human origin in collagen gels, which were subsequently transplanted under the renal capsule of female nude mice hosts," reported H. Parmar and colleagues, University of California San Francisco.

"The resulting grafts showed an increase in the ductal density compared with that observed previously. These ducts expressed appropriate markers for luminal and myoepithelial cells and steroid receptors. Treatment of the host with diethylstilbestrol or estradiol and progesterone significantly increased the ...