GATA-3 maintains the differentiation of the luminal cell fate in the mammary gland

A genome-wide screen was carried out to identify GATA-3 as the most highly enriched transcription factor in the mammary ductal epithelium of pubertal mice and show that GATA-3 is localized to the body cells of terminal end buds (TEBs) and to the mature luminal cells of mammary ducts. The findings suggest that GATA-3 actively maintains luminal epithelial differentiation in the adult mammary gland, which raises important implications for the pathogenesis of breast cancer.