View metadata, citation and similar papersbroughtCORE at to core.ac.uk you by provided by Institute of Cancer Research Repository Ectodysplasin target gene Fgf20 regulates mammary bud growth and ductal invasion and branching during puberty Teresa Elo1,#, Päivi H. Lindfors1,#, Qiang Lan1 , Maria Voutilainen1, Ewelina Trela1, Claes Ohlsson2, Sung-Ho Huh3,^, David M. Ornitz3, Matti Poutanen4, Beatrice A. Howard5, Marja L. Mikkola1,* 1 Developmental Biology Program, Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, Finland 2 Center for Bone and Arthritis Research, Department of Internal Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden 3 Department of Developmental Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA 4 Department of Physiology and Turku Center for Disease Modeling, Institute of Biomedicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland 5 The Breast Cancer Now Toby Robins Research Centre, Division of Breast Cancer, the Institute of Cancer Research, London, United Kingdom #) these authors contributed equally ^) current address: Holland Regenerative Medicine Program and Department of Developmental Neuroscience, Munroe-Meyer Institute, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, USA *) Author for correspondence: Marja L. Mikkola Developmental Biology Program Institute of Biotechnology University of Helsinki P.O.B. 56 00014 Helsinki Finland e-mail:
[email protected] phone: +358-2-941 59344 fax: +358-2-941 59366 1 Abstract Mammary gland development begins with the appearance of epithelial placodes that invaginate, sprout, and branch to form small arborized trees by birth. The second phase of ductal growth and branching is driven by the highly invasive structures called terminal end buds (TEBs) that form at ductal tips at the onset of puberty.