On the origins of tumour subtypes

Seton-Rogers, Sarah

doi:10.1038/nrc2234

Research Highlight
Published: October 2007

Breast cancer

On the origins of tumour subtypes

Sarah Seton-Rogers

Nature Reviews Cancer volume 7, page 727 (2007)Cite this article

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Human mammary epithelial cells (HMECs) are traditionally propagated in vitro using MEGM culture medium. Transformed HMECs give rise to tumours resembling a rare subtype of human breast cancer (squamous cell carcinomas) when transplanted into mice. Ince, Weinberg and colleagues proposed that alternative culture conditions might allow the outgrowth of different normal epithelial cell types, and that transformation of these different cell types might produce different tumour types.

The authors first developed a new culture medium, termed WIT. They collected normal human breast tissue from reduction mammoplasties and cultured the cells in either WIT or MEGM medium. Two distinct populations of cells, termed BPECs (breast primary epithelial cells) or HMECs, respectively, grew in these different conditions. Analysis of gene-expression profiles of the two cell populations indicated that they have distinct differentiation states — BPECs are more myoepithelial than HMECs.

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ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

Ince, T. A. et al. Transformation of different human breast epithelial cell types leads to distinct tumour phenotypes. Cancer Cell 12, 160–170 (2007)
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