
Getting pregnant at a young age is known to protect a woman against breast cancer, suggests study.
Researchers in BioMed Central found that Wnt/Notch signalling ratio is decreased in the breast tissue of mice which have given birth, compared to virgin mice of the same age.
Advertisement
In humans having a child before the age of 20 decreases risk of breast cancer by half.
Using microarray analysis researchers from Basel discovered that genes involved in the immune system and differentiation were up-regulated after pregnancy while the activity of genes coding for growth factors was reduced.
The activity of one particular gene Wnt4 was also down-regulated after pregnancy.
The protein from this gene (Wnt4) is a feminising protein - absence of this protein propels a foetus towards developing as a boy.
Wnt and Notch are opposing components of a system which controls cellular fate within an organism and when the team looked at Notch they found that genes regulated by notch were up-regulated, Notch-stimulating proteins up-regulated and Notch-inhibiting proteins down-regulated.
Wnt/Notch signalling ratio was permanently altered in the basal stem/progenitor cells of mammary tissue of mice by pregnancy.
Mohamed Bentires-Alj from the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, who led this study said, "The down-regulation of Wnt is the opposite of that seen in many cancers, and this tightened control of Wnt/Notch after pregnancy may be preventing the runaway growth present in cancer."
The research is published in the open access journal Breast Cancer Research.
Source: ANI
Advertisement
The activity of one particular gene Wnt4 was also down-regulated after pregnancy.
The protein from this gene (Wnt4) is a feminising protein - absence of this protein propels a foetus towards developing as a boy.
Wnt and Notch are opposing components of a system which controls cellular fate within an organism and when the team looked at Notch they found that genes regulated by notch were up-regulated, Notch-stimulating proteins up-regulated and Notch-inhibiting proteins down-regulated.
Wnt/Notch signalling ratio was permanently altered in the basal stem/progenitor cells of mammary tissue of mice by pregnancy.
Mohamed Bentires-Alj from the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, who led this study said, "The down-regulation of Wnt is the opposite of that seen in many cancers, and this tightened control of Wnt/Notch after pregnancy may be preventing the runaway growth present in cancer."
The research is published in the open access journal Breast Cancer Research.
Source: ANI
Advertisement
Advertisement
|
Advertisement
Recommended Reading
Latest Cancer News

Neutrophils, the blood cell types are mobilized to fight cancer if they are appropriately engaged.

The mouse avatars created help study and develop personalized treatments against blood cancer - myeloma.

Chronotherapy (the sleep-wake cycle) is observed as a valuable alternative treatment in cancer diagnosis and treatment.

A nanoengineering platform targets neutrophils, the white blood cells without killing pancreatic cancer cells paving the way for effective treatments.

The mechanism by which the kinases cause inflammation has been discovered by scientists.