Mammary gland (MG) is a dynamic organ that is essential for the production and secretion of breast milk. During pregnancy the MG undergoes a critical phase of remodeling, which is accompanied by the differentiation of mammary epithelial cells (MECs). During lactation, the MG requires high level of energy for proper folding of proteins in the secretory pathway, which takes place in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Limited evidence has been reported on the impact of cannabis or its components, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), on the differentiation of MECs. However, both THC and CBD have been reported to induce ER stress in various cell types, resulting in impacting cellular function. Furthermore, consequences of cannabis use in the perinatal period on breast milk composition have not been reported. Using the HC11 cell line, we investigated whether THC and CBD evoke ER stress in MECs resulting in the impaired cellular function. We also reported on the effects of cannabis use during pregnancy and lactation on the levels of macronutrients and bioactive factors in the breast milk of cannabis users. Relative to control, 10μM THC and 10μM CBD reduced mRNA levels of milk proteins (CSN2 and WAP) and lipid synthesizing enzymes (FASN, FABP4, PLIN2 and LPL), as well as whey acidic protein and lipid levels. In addition, 10μM THC, 10μM CBD, and the combination of 10μM THC + 10μM CBD significantly induced the expression of ER stress genes in HC11 cells. Furthermore, in the milk of women who used cannabis during pregnancy and lactation, the levels of secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA) were decreased, relative to non-users. Altogether, our findings indicate that cannabis use in the perinatal period may have implications on breast milk composition and infant health. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (Medical Science) / Breast milk is crucial to the nutrition and immunity of the newborn. It is produced by the mammary gland (MG), which is composed of mammary epithelial cells (MEC) that play a key role in producing and secreting proteins and factors into the milk. During pregnancy, the MG undergoes remodeling which is accompanied by differentiation of the MECs (change from unspecialized to a specialized stage that allows the MECs to produce milk proteins and other factors). The disruption in MEC differentiation can result in altered milk production and composition. Cannabis is used by women during pregnancy and breastfeeding. In this study, we investigated the impact of cannabinoids on the MEC differentiation and examined the effect of cannabis use in the perinatal period on the breast milk composition in humans. We reported that cannabinoids reduced the differentiation of MECs and maternal cannabis use during breastfeeding reduced levels of an essential immune factor.

The mammary alveolar cell-T (MAC-T) cell line is able to uniformly differentiate and secrete casein proteins in response to dexamethasone, insulin and prolactin and is extensively used to study bovine mammary epithelial cell function. Growth hormone (GH) has been shown to increase milk protein synthesis both in vivo and in mammary cell models, and induce cytoskeletal rearrangement in 3T3 fibroblast cell line and a Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell line. Few studies have focused on identifying the mechanisms involved in differentiated MAC-T cells’ response to GH. We tested the hypothesis that MAC-T cells would respond directly to GH and that the response would include alterations in milk protein gene expression, leading to a more appropriate model for mammary cell function than treatment with dexamethasone, insulin and prolactin alone. To identify mechanisms that are involved in MAC-T cells’ response to GH, global protein was assessed through two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and differentially expressed proteins were identified through mass spectrometry. Differentiated cells expressed GH receptor mRNA, and addition of GH to the differentiation medium increased production of α-S1 casein and α-lactalbumin mRNA. Proteins that were differentially expressed are related to metabolism, the cytoskeleton, protein folding, RNA and DNA processing, detoxifying and calcium metabolism. These results indicate that GH is an important factor in inducing a lactogenic phenotype in the MAC-T cell line, and supports GHs involvement in differentiation, while altering cell metabolism in preparation for synthesis and secretion of milk components.

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The overall objective of this research was to further understand the mechanism by which growth hormone (GH) stimulates milk production in cattle. Three studies were conducted toward this objective. In the first study, the effects of GH and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), a major mediator of GH action in vivo, on cell proliferation, nutrient transport, and milk protein gene expression in bovine mammary epithelial cell line MAC-T cells were determined. GH increased (P < 0.01) expression of four major milk protein genes in MAC-T cells transfected with GHR expression plasmid. Cotransfection analyses indicated that GH also stimulated (P < 0.01) luciferase reporter gene expression from the promoters of the four milk protein genes in MAC-T cells. These findings together with the fact that GHR mRNA and protein are expressed in the epithelial cells of the bovine mammary gland suggest that GH may directly stimulate milk protein gene expression in the mammary gland. This study also showed that IGF-I increased the proliferation (P < 0.01) and amino acid transport (P < 0.05) in MAC-T cells. Because GH is known to stimulate IGF-I production in animals, IGF-I-mediated mammary epithelial cell proliferation and amino acid uptake may be additional mechanisms by which GH increases milk production in cattle. In the second study, the role of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) on IGF-I-stimulated proliferation of MAC-T cells was investigated. A microarray analysis revealed that IGF-I decreased CTGF mRNA expression in MAC-T cells (P < 0.01). This effect of IGF-I was further found to be mediated through the PI-3 kinase/Akt signaling pathway from the IGF-I receptor (IGF-IR). CTGF alone stimulated MAC-T cell proliferation (P < 0.01). However, together with IGF-I, CTGF attenuated the proliferating effect of IGF-I on MAC-T cells, and this attenuation was reversed by additional IGF-I. Therefore, IGF-I inhibition of CTGF expression may benefit IGF-I stimulation of MAC-T cell proliferation. CTGF had no effect on IGF-I-induced phosphorylation of IGF-IR or total IGF-IR expression in MAC-T cells, suggesting that CTGF may attenuate IGF-I stimulation of MAC-T cell proliferation through a postreceptor inhibition of the IGF-IR signaling pathway. In the third study, whether a milk yield-associated T/A polymorphism in exon 8 of the bovine GHR gene affected GHR signaling was determined. It was found that the two corresponding GHR variants did not differ in mediating GH induction of gene expression, suggesting that the two GHR variants are not functionally different and hence are unlikely to mediate different effects of GH on milk production. In summary, the results of this dissertation research suggest that GH may directly stimulate milk protein gene expression and indirectly stimulate mammary epithelial cell proliferation and amino acid uptake through IGF-I, thereby stimulating milk production in cattle. The results also suggest that IGF-I stimulation of mammary epithelia cell proliferation may involve an inhibition of CTGF expression in the cells. / Ph. D.

Breast cancer is one of the most common types of cancer affecting women in the world today. To better understand breast cancer initiation and progression modeling biological tissue under physiological conditions is essential. Indeed, breast cancer involves complex interactions between mammary epithelial cells and the stroma, both extracellular matrix (ECM) and cells including adipocytes (fat tissue) and fibroblasts (connective tissue). Therefore, the engineering of in vitro three-dimensional (3D) systems of breast tissues allows a deeper understanding of the complex cell-cell and cell-ECM interactions involved during breast tissue development and cancer initiation and progression. Furthermore, such 3D systems may provide a viable alternative to investigate new drug or drug regimen and to model and monitor concurrent cellular processes during tumor growth and invasion. The development of suitable 3D in vitro models relies on the ability to mimic the microenvironment, the structure, and the functions of the breast tissue. Different approaches to develop a novel 3D breast model have been investigated. Most models use gel scaffolds, including Matrigel® and collagen to generate breast tissue-like structures. However, the physicochemical, mechanical, and geometrical properties of these scaffolds only partially meet the mechanical, physical, and chemical parameters of the breast tissue matrix. In the present studies, we investigated the overall hypothesis that electrospun SF-derived scaffolds promote mammary cell growth and the formation of mammary-like structures depending on the composition and/or coating of the scaffolds with ECM proteins. Through an extensive literature search (1) the importance of 3D modeling of tissues and organs in vivo, (2) 3D modeling of the mammary tissue and currently available models, (3) the properties and applications of SF in tissue modeling and regeneration were reviewed (Chapter 1). Our studies provide evidence of the effects of various concentrations (Chapter 2) of SF along with different electrospinning techniques (Chapter 3) on the structure of electrospun scaffolds and whether those scaffolds provide suitable microenvironments for mammary epithelial cells as determined by MCF10A cell attachment, viability, and structure formation. Further, we investigated the effects of the key ECM proteins collagen I (Chapter 4) and laminin (Chapter 5) used to blend or coat, respectively, SF scaffolds on the attachment, viability and structure formation of mammary epithelial cells. Our studies first highlight the mechanical and physical properties of the different SF-derived scaffolds through various SF concentrations and electrospinning techniques. Second, the biocompatibility of these SF electrospun scaffolds was defined based on MCF10A cell survival and adhesion. Third, our data indicate that scaffolds derived from blended and/or coated SF with collagen I also promoted human mammary cell survival and adhesion. Lastly, our observations suggest that on laminin-coated SF scaffolds MCF10A mammary cells, in the presence of lactogenic hormones, differentiated forming acinus-like structures. Overall, these studies provide evidence that SF electrospun scaffolds closely mimic the structure of the ECM fibers and allow many advantages such as; physical and chemical modification of the microenvironment by varying electrospinning parameters and addition of various proteins, hormones, and growth factors, respectively. Further, coating these SF scaffolds with essential ECM proteins, in particular laminin, promote cell-ECM interactions necessary for cell differentiation and formation of growth-arrested structures, through providing cell integrin binding sites and appropriate chemical cues.

Rapidly growing tumor cells outgrow their blood supply resulting in a microenvironment with reduced oxygen and nutrients. Using an in vitro transformation model we found that cancer cells expressing the SV40 ST antigen (+ST cells) are more resistant to glucose deprivation-induced cell death than cells lacking the SV40 ST antigen (−ST cells). Mechanistically, we found that the ST antigen mediates this effect by activating a nutrient-sensing kinase, AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). We further show that AMPK mediates its effects, at least in part, by inhibiting mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin), thereby shutting down protein translation, and by inducing autophagy as an alternate energy source. Resistance to anoikis upon anchorage-deprivation is yet another form of stress tolerated by both normal stem/progenitor cells of various tissues in our body and by cancer cells. Using mammospheres as a model to enrich for stem/progenitor cells we found that mammosphere formation is accompanied with increased activation of AMPK. Concomitant with AMPK activation, we detected increased phosphorylation of the anti-apoptotic protein PED/PEA15. We further demonstrate that AMPK directly interacts with and phosphorylates PEA15 at Ser116, thus establishing PEA15 as a new AMPK target. Thus, our study has identified AMPK-PEA15 signaling as a key component of sphere formation by both normal and cancerous breast tissues. During metastasis, epithelial cells lose attachments to their neighbors, acquire a mesenchymal-like morphology, a process termed as epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and become motile. Our results indicate that AMPK regulates EMT by both transcriptional and post-translational modification of EMT-inducing transcription factor, Twist. Thus, our study has identified a role for AMPK in nutrient deprivation, anchorage-independent growth, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition involved in metastasis. In addition, we have identified two novel substrates of AMPK, PEA15 and Twist, that may play key roles in cancer progression. Thus, our study suggests that targeting AMPK, or its newly identified substrates, can be explored as possible anti-cancer mechanisms.

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