Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Cancer Biology Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Cancer Biology

The Cellular Origin And Molecular Drivers Of Claudin-Low Mammary Cancer, Patrick D. Raedler Dec 2020

The Cellular Origin And Molecular Drivers Of Claudin-Low Mammary Cancer, Patrick D. Raedler

Theses & Dissertations

Breast cancers of the claudin-low subtype make up a substantial portion of triple-negative breast cancers and have stem cell-like and mesenchymal features. Although it has been recognized for some time that this breast cancer subtype is highly aggressive and difficult to treat, the molecular drivers and cellular origin of claudin-low breast cancer have been poorly defined. The lack of suitable in vivo models has prohibited the study of tumor initiation and progression of this subtype. In this work, we report two novel mouse models that, upon expression of oncogenic RAS in the mammary epithelium, develop highly metastatic triple-negative mammary tumors …


Inter-Individual Variation In Response To Estrogen And Implications For Breast Cancer Risk, Amye L. Black May 2020

Inter-Individual Variation In Response To Estrogen And Implications For Breast Cancer Risk, Amye L. Black

Doctoral Dissertations

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer related death among women and the most prevalent cancer type in women worldwide. Many risk factors for breast cancer are related to estrogen exposure and all involve prolonged or high levels of estrogen exposure. However, estrogen exposure during early pregnancy reduces breast cancer risk by up to 50%. Estrogen’s paradoxical role in both contributing to and reducing breast cancer risk is still not understood. We hypothesized that a subset of women may be more sensitive to estrogen exposure, and the following experiments were designed to test this hypothesis and determine if …


Higher Tensile Forces Across Cellular Junctions And An Intact Nuclear Linc Complex Is Required For Epithelial Function And Stability, Fnu Vani Narayanan Jan 2020

Higher Tensile Forces Across Cellular Junctions And An Intact Nuclear Linc Complex Is Required For Epithelial Function And Stability, Fnu Vani Narayanan

Theses and Dissertations

Recent advances in three-dimensional (3D) cell culture systems have provided key insights into the understanding of biochemical and physiological states of native tissue. A significant progress in the field of mechanobiology involves measuring cellular traction forces in a more native 3D environment. However, the effects of mechanical forces exerted across cellular junctions and the nuclear LINC complex, in an organized 3D system has not been investigated thus far. Epithelial cells spontaneously form acini (also known as cysts or spheroids) with a single, fluid-filled central lumen, when grown in 3D matrices. The size of the lumen is dependent on apical secretion …