Mammary Gland Development Methods and Protocols

This volume provides key molecular biological protocols and experimental strategies currently employed to study the various stages of mammary gland development. Chapters are divided into four parts covering genetically modified mouse models that exhibit prenatal and pubertal mammary gland phenotypes, 2D and 3D-model culture systems, methodologies for mammary stem cell isolation, and translational applications that provide a bridge between experimental studies of mammary gland development and the study of human breast cancer. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.

Authoritative and cutting-edge, Mammary Gland Development: Methods and Protocols  will be useful for researchers whose primary interest is in mammary gland development; developmental biologists, epithelial cell biologists,  and those with an interest in molecular mechanisms underlying breast cancer.

Overview of the Development of the Mouse Mammary Gland; A Comparison of Mammary Gland Development in Mouse and Humans.- Prenatal Mammary Gland Development in the Mouse - Research Models and Techniques for its Study from Past to Present.- Pubertal Mammary Gland Development: Elucidation Of In Vivo Morphogenesis Using Murine Models.- Analysis of Mammary Gland Phenotypes by Transplantation of the Genetically Marked Mammary Epithelium.- Pubertal Ductal Morphogenesis: Isolation and Transcriptome Analysis of the Terminal End Bud.- RNA Profiling of Non-Cultured Fibroblasts Isolated from Pubertal Mouse Mammary Gland Sections.- Analysis of the Involuting Mouse Mammary Gland: An In Vivo Model for Cell Death.- Contractility Assay for Established Myoepithelial Cell Lines.- The use of 3D Culture of Primary Mammary Epithelial Cells to Define Molecular Entities Required for Acinus Formation. Analysing MAP Kinase Phosphatases.- A 3D Fibroblast-EpitheliumCo-culture Model for Understanding Micro-Environmental Role in Branching Morphogenesis of the Mammary Gland.- RNA Sequencing Analysis Reveals Expression of a Transient EMT Profile During the Early During Organization of MCF10A Cells in 3D.- A 3D Culture Model to Study How Fluid Pressure and Flow Affect the Behavior of Aggregates of Epithelial Cells.- Purification of Distinct Subsets of Epithelial Cells from Normal Human Breast Tissue.- Techniques for the Reprogramming of Exogenous Stem/Progenitor Cell Populations Towards a Mammary Epithelial Cell Fate.- Lineage Tracing of Mammary Stem and Progenitor Cells.- Assessment of Novel Proteins by Tissue Microarray Technology.- Patient-Derived Xenografts of Breast Cancer.