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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 Dec 30.
Published in final edited form as: Curr Top Dev Biol. 2015 Feb 11;112:353–382. doi: 10.1016/bs.ctdb.2014.12.001

Figure 3.

Figure 3

E-cadherin is required for Twist1-induced single cell dissemination. 3D organotypic culture of primary mouse mammary epithelium was used to isolate the effects of single gene changes associated with the epithelial–mesenchymal transition. (A) In the assay, fragments of mammary ducts, called “organoids,” are explanted into a basement membrane-rich extracellular matrix. Genetic perturbations, including Cre-lox-based gene deletion, shRNA knockdown, and tet-inducible gene expression, are performed in vitro. (B) Normal organoids branch in response to growth factor. (C) E-cadherin deletion blocks branching and induces epithelial disorganization. (D) Twist1 expression blocks branching and induces single cell dissemination. (E) E-cadherin knockdown inhibits Twist1-induced single cell dissemination. Bars, 20 μm. Images ©Shamir et al. (2014). Originally published in The Journal of Cell Biology, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201306088.