A Novel Tool for Understanding the Origin of Breast Cancer

Researchers have completed the most extensive mapping of healthy breast tissue cells to date. Their findings, which were published in Nature Medicine, may be an important tool for understanding how breast cancer develops.

Using healthy breast tissue from women of diverse ancestry, investigators developed a comprehensive atlas of breast tissue cells, including details on genome organization in each cell type and the effects on how RNA is made to drive function in various parts of the breast.

Overall, they sequenced 88,000 cell nuclei from 92 women who donated healthy breast tissue to the Komen Tissue Bank. The donors were of African, European, Indigenous American, Hispanic, East Asian, Southeast Asian, and Ashkenazi-Jewish-European ancestry.

The cell mapping includes not only data on the genes expressed in various cell types, but also on how the genes are organized and what specific gene expressions are limited to each cell type.

“Breast cancer shows variability in the outcome based on your genetic ancestry,” said Harikrishna Nakshatri, PhD, senior author of the study, via a press release. “While socioeconomics is certainly a contributing factor, we believe biology and ancestry also play a role. This study will help us address that biological, ancestral aspect.”