Version 1
: Received: 11 June 2019 / Approved: 14 June 2019 / Online: 14 June 2019 (04:24:33 CEST)
Version 2
: Received: 29 July 2020 / Approved: 31 July 2020 / Online: 31 July 2020 (02:56:15 CEST)
Regan, J.L., Smalley, M.J. Integrating single-cell RNA-sequencing and functional assays to decipher mammary cell states and lineage hierarchies. npj Breast Cancer 6, 32 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41523-020-00175-8
Regan, J.L., Smalley, M.J. Integrating single-cell RNA-sequencing and functional assays to decipher mammary cell states and lineage hierarchies. npj Breast Cancer 6, 32 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41523-020-00175-8
Regan, J.L., Smalley, M.J. Integrating single-cell RNA-sequencing and functional assays to decipher mammary cell states and lineage hierarchies. npj Breast Cancer 6, 32 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41523-020-00175-8
Regan, J.L., Smalley, M.J. Integrating single-cell RNA-sequencing and functional assays to decipher mammary cell states and lineage hierarchies. npj Breast Cancer 6, 32 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41523-020-00175-8
Abstract
The identification and molecular characterization of cellular hierarchies in complex tissues is key to understanding both normal cellular homeostasis and tumorigenesis. The mammary epithelium is a heterogeneous tissue consisting of two main cellular compartments, an outer basal layer containing myoepithelial cells and an inner luminal layer consisting of estrogen receptor-negative (ER−) ductal cells and secretory alveolar cells (in the fully functional differentiated tissue) and hormone-responsive estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) cells. Recent publications have used single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) analysis to decipher epithelial cell differentiation hierarchies in human and murine mammary glands, and reported the identification of new cell types and states based on the expression of the luminal progenitor cell marker KIT (c-Kit). These studies allow for comprehensive and unbiased analysis of the different cell types that constitute a heterogeneous tissue. Here we discuss scRNA-seq studies in the context of previous research in which mammary epithelial cell populations were molecularly and functionally characterized, and identified c-Kit+progenitors and cell states analogous to those reported in the recent scRNA-seq studies.
Biology and Life Sciences, Cell and Developmental Biology
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Commenter: Joseph Regan
Commenter's Conflict of Interests: Author