Interrogating mouse mammary cancer models: insights from gene expression profiling.

Numerous mouse models for mammary cancer have been developed and characterized based upon their biological, molecular, and histopathological features. In an effort to dissect the molecular anatomy of such models and compare their gene expression profiles to those of human breast cancer, six models representing various oncogenic pathways have been investigated using cDNA microarray technology. Results of these analyses are presented and discussed in the context of technological challenges presented by analyzing data on such a large scale. Further expression profiling coupled with emerging proteomic technologies will more completely define and distinguish mouse models of mammary cancer from each other and provide a comprehensive basis for comparing such models with the human disease they are intended to represent.