In the Murine and Bovine Maternal Mammary Gland Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 is Activated in Clusters of Epithelial Cells around the Day of Birth

Laura J.A. Hardwick, Benjamin P. Davies, Sara Pensa, Maedee Burge-Rogers, Claire Davies, André Figueiredo Baptista, Robert Knott, Ian S. McCrone, Eleonora Po, Benjamin W. Strugnell, Katie Waine, Paul Wood, Walid T. Khaled, Huw Summers, Paul Rees, John W. Wills, Katherine Hughes

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT) proteins regulate mammary development. Here we investigate the expression of phosphorylated STAT3 (pSTAT3) in the mouse and cow around the day of birth. We present localised colocation analysis, applicable to other mammary studies requiring identification of spatially congregated events. We demonstrate that pSTAT3-positive events are multifocally clustered in a non-random and statistically significant fashion. Arginase-1 expressing cells, consistent with macrophages, exhibit distinct clustering within the periparturient mammary gland. These findings represent a new facet of mammary STAT3 biology, and point to the presence of mammary sub-microenvironments.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number10
JournalJournal of Mammary Gland Biology and Neoplasia
Volume29
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2024

Keywords

  • Macrophage
  • Mammary
  • Parturition
  • Spatial statistics
  • STAT3
  • Udder

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Oncology
  • Cancer Research

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