 | Madison Myers University of Guam BiologyMentor(s)Wendie Cohick, Ph.D. Tiffany Polanco Department of Endocrinology and Animal Biosciences Rutgers Univeristy |
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| Effects of alcohol exposure in utero on hormone receptor expression and mammary gland density | ||
| Recent studies have shown that alcohol exposure in utero can increase breast cancer risk, however this idea has not been extensively studied. Since breast cancer development and progression are regulated by steroid hormones and growth factors, hormonal receptors serve as clinical markers. Detection of hormone receptor expression is a valuable tool in breast cancer diagnosis. It provides relevant information about prognosis and available treatment approaches. Our lab has shown that alcohol exposure in utero increases susceptibility to mammary tumors and alters tumor development. Rats exposed to alcohol in the fetal environment develop more malignant tumors as well as a greater number of estrogen-receptor-negative tumors. The present study investigates the effect of alcohol exposure in utero on human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER-2) and progesterone receptor (PR) expression. Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were fed either a liquid diet containing 6.37% ethanol, an isocaloric liquid diet, or an ad libitum rat chow diet during days 11-21 of gestation. Pups were injected with n-nitroso-n-methyl urea (NMU) to induce mammary carcinogenesis. At study termination, tumor tissue was collected for the detection of PR and HER-2 by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Since rats exposed to alcohol in utero developed more estrogen receptor negative tumors, we suspect that alcohol-exposed animals will develop more PR and HER-2 negative tumors. Studies also have shown that increased mammary density leads to an increased breast cancer risk. We measured mammary gland density in 20-day-old rats, however no difference was found between the three groups. |