Characterization of primary mammary epithelial cells with loss of BRCA1 at a single cell level

Background Loss of BRCA1 has been linked to increased cell proliferation in human mammary epithelial cells. To determine if this phenotype is mirrored in the normalappearing mammary epithelial cells from mouse models of BRCA1 deficiency, time-lapse imaging was performed on primary mammary epithelial cell (PMEC) cultures. Three distinct genetic models were tested to evaluate the role of p53 haploinsufficiency and p53 haploinsufficiency in the background of ERa over-expression to altered cell proliferation.