Metalloprotease/Disintegrin Proteins and Mammary Carcinoma Progression

摘要

This project was designed to identify novel integrin ligands that are expressed in breast cancer tissue, by studying members of the MDC protein family. As a model system for breast cancer progression, we are using transgenic mice that express the polyomavirus middle T oncogene in the mammary gland epithelium Using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), we have shown that MDC9 and MDCl5 are expressed in mammary tumor tissue derived from these mice. We have been unsuccessful in developing monoclonal antibodies to these MDCs that would recognize the proteins in breast cancer tissue sections We have also raised panels of rabbit monoclonal antibodies to proteins expressed on the surface of mammary tumor cells, and have identified several of the corresponding antigens. Even though none of these are MDC's, two of them (MFG-E8, mClCa-1) are novel integrin ligands that may play a role in regulating breast cancer cell behavior. The antibodies to these molecules will be important tools aiding further studies of breast cancer cell biology.