Identification of the mesenchymal signals regulating embryonic mammary gland development

The development of branched organs like mammary and salivary glands is regulated by tissue interactions between the epithelial and mesenchymal tissues. Mammary gland consists of a branched epithelial ductal network embedded in a mammary specific mesenchyme. In order to uncover the molecular mechanisms regulating embryonic mammary gland development, we compared the transcriptomes of mesenchymes from different development stages and tissues by RNA-sequencing E13.5 submandibular gland mesenchyme, E13.5 mammary gland mesenchyme, E13.5 ventral skin mesenchyme, E16.5 mammary gland mesenchyme and E16.5 fat pad from C57Bl/6JOlaHsd embryos were manually microdissected from the tissues after enzymatic treatment (Dispase II and Pancreatic-Trypsin consecutively). The mesenchymes isolated from 2-3 embryos from the same litter were pooled together as one sample. Altogether, five biological replicates were collected from 3 different litters.