This project, funded by a Breast Cancer Research Foundation grant, is testing the impact and underlying mechanisms of obesity in a spontaneous mammary tumor model. The model employed is the female polyoma middle T antigen transgenic mouse, which develops estrogen receptor-positive mammary tumors that metastasize at a high rate. These mice will be fed dietary regimens that result in a range of lean to morbidly obese mice, permitting us to evaluate the impact of various levels of adiposity on tumor development, metastases, and underlying mechanisms assessed by gene expression analyses, hormonal profiling, and characterization of immune function.
