Genetically Engineered Animal Models of Breast Cancer
Genetically engineered animal models are essential for studying breast cancer biology and progression. By incorporating specific genetic alterations, these models enable researchers to investigate tumor initiation, growth, and metastasis in a living system. Alfa Cytology offers a comprehensive suite of services related to genetically engineered animal models of breast cancer.
Introduction of Genetically Engineered Animal Models (GEMMs)
GEMMs are an important tool for preclinical research on human breast cancer (BC), gene editing of animal mammary glands can model common genetic abnormalities in human breast cancer. There are generally two types of GEMMs, which are transgenic breast cancer animal models and gene knockout breast cancer animal models. Basic and translational breast cancer research relies heavily on experimental animal models. Ideally, such models for breast cancer should have a commonality with human breast cancer in terms of tumor etiology, biological behavior, pathology, and response to therapeutics, and GEEMs are often used to explore the molecular and functional characteristics of BC and the targeted therapy of BC.
Fig.1 Schematic showing the generation of mouse tumor models for BC therapy. (Bosenberg M, et al., 2023)
Our Services
Ideal animal models play a crucial role in BC research, requiring control of specific tumor subtypes and the complex biological environment required for tumorigenesis, which is a difficult, time-consuming, and costly affair. Alfa Cytology can provide breast cancer genetic engineering animal model construction services.
- Transgenic breast cancer animal models
We targeted the expression of oncogenes in mice using mammary gland-specific promoters. Among them, MMTV-LTR is mostly used for mammary gland-specific promoters. MMTV is an important virus that causes mammary tumors in mice. Oncogenes such as Wnt-1 are highly expressed in the mammary gland, thereby inducing breast cancer.
- Gene knockout breast cancer animal models
We adopt the Cre/loxp system and use two kinds of mice, the first is mammary gland-specific Cre mice, such as WAP-Cre and MMTV-Cre mice. The second is flox mice with tumor suppressor genes, such as BRCA1 (fl/fl) mice, and E-cadherin (fl/fl) mice, which can be targeted to knock out tumor suppressor genes in mammary gland tissue to induce breast cancer by mating the two kinds of mice.
We have a systematic BC transgenic animal model platform and a professional team, which can deliver the animal model you need accurately and on time.
Application Fields
Advantages of Our Services
- Scientific program design
- Professional research team
- Strict quality control management
- Rich project experience
Case Study
MMTV-PyMT Transgenic Breast Cancer Model in C57BL/6J Mice
- Model Introduction
This model is a valuable tool for studying breast cancer tumorigenesis, progression, and metastasis, as well as for preclinical drug screening. It spontaneously recapitulates the stages of human breast cancer development.
- Model Information
- Model: MMTV-PyMT Transgenic Breast Cancer Model
- Animals: C57BL/6J Mice
- Age: 6-8 Weeks
- Cancer Type: Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC)
- Weight: 18-22 g
- Model Construction
The model was established by leveraging the mammary-specific promoter and enhancer elements derived from the Mouse Mammary Tumor Virus (MMTV). These regulatory sequences were engineered to direct the targeted expression of the Polyoma virus Middle T-antigen (PyMT) oncogene specifically to the mammary gland.
Fig. 2 Flowchart of MMTV-PyMT transgenic breast cancer construction. (Source: Alfa Cytology)
- Model Data
- Disease Timeline: Tumors typically develop by 8 weeks and progress to advanced stages by 14-16 weeks, providing a well-defined window for studying progression and therapy.
- Metastatic Potential: The model exhibits a high rate of spontaneous metastasis, with approximately 80% of primary tumors metastasizing to the lungs.
- Biomarker Correlation: Expression of the transcription factor Runx1 increases with disease progression, providing a measurable biomarker for monitoring tumor stage and response to treatment.
Fig. 3 Histopathological results of MMTV-PyMT transgenic mouse model (A) Female mouse (B) Male mouse. (Source: Alfa Cytology)
Alfa Cytology's BC GEMMs can simulate the occurrence and development of human BC, and have very important theoretical value and clinical significance in the study of BC pathogenesis, the discovery of new drug targets, and the evaluation of preclinical drug efficacy. We can provide a variety of highly efficient, customized BC GEMMs models according to the specific needs of customers. If you are interested in our service, please contact us, our professionalism and competitive price will be the reason for you to choose us.
Reference
- Bosenberg M, et al. Mouse models for immuno-oncology. Trends Cancer. 2023 Jul;9(7):578-590.