A Cellular and Molecular Dissection of the Breast: Identification of Pericytes as a Driver of Tumor Cell Proliferation

Tissues are composed of many different types of cells. Each has a specific function and exists within a unique context—all of which define the landscape of the tissue. The cellular and molecular interactions within a tissue are critical to its form and function. Defining these interactions is an important step in understanding the aberrant nature of diseases like cancer, where tissue homeostasis has been abandoned. This requires reliable models of each cell type. Yet, in many tissues, including the breast, comprehensive methods to identify, purify, and study each tissue cell type have not been defined. This is a critical deficiency that hinders progress. Through the development of a novel FACS isolation strategy, the development of cell models, transcriptomic analyses, and functional studies, I have revealed previously unrecognized biology of different breast cell types and identified pericytes as a potential contributor to breast tumor pathology.