Transcriptome Dynamics in Mouse Mammary Luminal and Basal Epithelial cells During Postnatal Development. Mus musculus strain:FVB/N

While there is growing appreciation for the unique and specific functions of basal epithelial cells during postnatal development of the murine mammary gland, mechanisms regulating the behavior of these cells are poorly understood. We tested the hypothesis that basal epithelial cells of the adult murine mammary gland play a pivotal role in the developmental process initiated by pregnancy and continued during lactation and involution. RNA-seq transcriptome analysis of basal relative to luminal epithelial cells at all major stages of postnatal mammary gland development uncovered an unexpected dynamic transcriptional activity that defines specific functions acquired by these cells during mammary gland differentiation.