In eight days, the acinus of a breast cell from the in vitro 3-D cell culture model develops. The green stained central cells succumb to apoptosis, forming the lumen, whereas the red stained peripheral cells survive. An inherent surveillance system maintains the hollow architecture by inducing apoptosis of excess proliferating cells. Tumor cells must circumvent apoptosis in order to fill the lumen. Image courtesy of Jayanta Debnath |
Dual signals may drive early breast cancerHarvard researchers may have uncovered how breast cancer developsOctober 11, 2002Researchers from the lab of Joan Brugge, Harvard Medical School professor of cell biology, may have uncovered one of the central mechanisms of breast cancer. They found that dual signals provided by ErbB2, a cancer-associated gene commonly known as HER2, appear to be required to disrupt the framework of a breast gland during early tumor development. |
