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Mouse models of BRCA1 and their application to breast cancer research

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Abstract

Germline mutations of human breast cancer-associated gene 1 (BRCA1) predispose women to breast and ovarian cancers. In mice, over 20 distinct mutations, including null, hypomorphic, isoform, conditional, and point mutations, have been created to study functions of Brca1 in mammary development and tumorigenesis. Analyses using these mutant mice have yielded an enormous amount of information that greatly facilitates our understanding of the gender- and tissue-specific tumor suppressor functions of BRCA1, as well as enriches our insights into applying these preclinical models of disease to breast cancer research. Here, we review features of these mutant mice and their applications to cancer prevention and therapeutic treatment.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the critical reading and helpful discussion of members of the Deng laboratory. This work was supported by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, USA.

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Correspondence to Chu-Xia Deng.

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Dine, J., Deng, CX. Mouse models of BRCA1 and their application to breast cancer research. Cancer Metastasis Rev 32, 25–37 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10555-012-9403-7

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