ArticleBMC developmental biology2010
Epithelial cell-directed efferocytosis in the post-partum mammary gland is necessary for tissue homeostasis and future lactation.
Article in BMC developmental biology, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 61 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
61 citing papers in PubMed, 82 citations in OpenAlex.
- De novo E-cadherin/catenin complex formation controls basal epithelial mechanics and force transmission for apoptotic cell clearance.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Phagocytic clearance of targeted cells with a synthetic ligand.Nature biomedical engineering · 2026Article
- Advancements in nanomedicine for the therapeutic regulation of efferocytosis: opportunities and challenges.Theranostics · 2026Review
- Variation in virion phosphatidylserine content drives differential GAS6 binding among closely related flaviviruses.Journal of virology · 2025Article
- Reproductive state controls transcription in the murine liver, with implications for breast cancer liver metastasis.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Targeting Frequent Efferocytosis in Tumor Microenvironment is a New Direction for Cancer Treatment.Small science · 2025Review
- Efferocytosis in Homeostasis.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2025Review
- The ability of human TIM1 to bind phosphatidylethanolamine enhances viral uptake and efferocytosis compared to rhesus and mouse orthologs.Journal of virology · 2024Article
- The ability of human TIM1 to bind phosphatidylethanolamine enhances viral uptake and efferocytosis compared to rhesus and mouse orthologs.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- MERTK Inhibition as a Targeted Novel Cancer Therapy.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Non-professional efferocytosis of Salmonella-infected intestinal epithelial cells in the neonatal host.The Journal of experimental medicine · 2024Article
- Progress of research on the relationship between efferocytosis and tumor.Frontiers in oncology · 2024Review
- Efferocytosis by bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells disrupts osteoblastic differentiation via mitochondrial remodeling.Cell death & disease · 2023Article
- Control of tumor-associated macrophage responses by nutrient acquisition and metabolism.Immunity · 2023Review
- AXL, along with PROS1, is overexpressed in papillary thyroid carcinoma and regulates its biological behaviour.World journal of surgical oncology · 2022Article
- Two independent modes of kidney stone suppression achieved by AIM/CD5L and KIM-1.Communications biology · 2022Article
- Alveolar cells in the mammary gland: lineage commitment and cell death.The Biochemical journal · 2022Review
- The immune environment of the mammary gland fluctuates during post-lactational regression and correlates with tumour growth rate.Development (Cambridge, England) · 2022Article
- The TAM receptor tyrosine kinases Axl and Mer drive the maintenance of highly phagocytic macrophages.Frontiers in immunology · 2022Article
- The Cellular Organization of the Mammary Gland: Insights From Microscopy.Journal of mammary gland biology and neoplasia · 2021Review
1 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMammary glands harbor a profound burden of apoptotic cells (ACs) during post-lactational involution, but little is known regarding mechanisms by which ACs are cleared from the mammary gland, or consequences if this process is interrupted. We investigated AC clearance, also termed efferocytosis, during post-lactational remodeling, using mice deficient for MerTK, Axl, and Tyro3, three related receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) regulating macrophage-mediated efferocytosis in monocytes. MerTK expression, apoptosis and the accumulation of apoptotic debris were examined in histological sections of MerTK-deficient, Axl/Tyro3-deficient, and wild-type mammary glands harvested at specific time points during lactation and synchronized involution. The ability of primary mammary epithelial cells (MECs) to engulf ACs was assessed in culture. Transplant of MerTK-deficient mammary epithelium into cleared WT mammary fat pads was used to assess the contribution of WT mammary macrophages to post-lactational efferocytosis.
resultsACs induced MerTK expression in MECs, resulting in elevated MerTK levels at the earliest stages of involution. Loss of MerTK resulted in AC accumulation in post-lactational MerTK-deficient mammary glands, but not in Axl and Tyro3-deficient mammary glands. Increased vascularization, fibrosis, and epithelial hyperproliferation were observed in MerTK-deficient mammary glands through at least 60 days post-weaning, due to failed efferocytosis after lactation, but did not manifest in nulliparous mice. WT host-derived macrophages failed to rescue efferocytosis in transplanted MerTK-deficient mammary epithelium.
conclusionEfferocytosis by MECs through MerTK is crucial for mammary gland homeostasis and function during the post-lactational period. Efferocytosis by MECs thus limits pathologic consequences associated with the apoptotic load following lactation.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.