The aim of this project is to assess the molecular mechanisms regulating cell fate decisions made by normal myoepithelial cells and breast cancer stem cells

Breast tumours of the basal-like type are aggressive cancers that show mixed expression of epithelial (luminal) and myoepithelial (basal) markers. Recent studies have demonstrated that pluripotent stem cells of the normal mammary gland have a similar phenotype to this tumour type. For this reason, it has been suggested that basal-like tumours may originate from the transformation of stem cells that have undergone a block in their differentiation program.

In this project we are assessing the capacity of basal cells to differentiate to myoepithelial cells with the aim of uncovering the molecular mechanisms regulating the cell fate decisions made by normal and cancer breast stem cells. To this end, we are isolating cell subpopulations with stem or bi-lineage progenitor features from basal-like (normal and tumorigenic) breast cell lines and testing their ability to conduct myoepithelial differentiation. As cancer stem cells are suggested to be resistant to chemotherapy and responsible for tumour recurrence, the possibility to differentiate basal-like tumour cells into myoepithelial cells would open new potential avenues for the therapy of these aggressive cancers.