In vivo imaging of mammary epithelial cell dynamics in response to lineage-biased Wnt/β-catenin activation

Real-time in vivo imaging provides an essential window into the spatiotemporal cellular events contributing to tissue development and pathology. By coupling longitudinal intravital imaging with genetic lineage tracing, here we capture the earliest cellular events arising in response to active Wnt/β-catenin signaling and the ensuing impact on the organization and differentiation of the mammary epithelium. This enables us to interrogate how Wnt/β-catenin regulates the dynamics of distinct subpopulations of mammary epithelial cells in vivo and in real time. We show that β-catenin stabilization, when targeted to either the mammary luminal or basal epithelial lineage, leads to cellular rearrangements that precipitate the formation of hyperplastic lesions that undergo squamous transdifferentiation. These results enhance our understanding of the earliest stages of hyperplastic lesion formation in vivo and reveal that, in mammary neoplastic development, β-catenin activation dictates a hair follicle/epidermal differentiation program independently of the targeted cell of origin. [Display omitted] •Lineage-biased β-catenin activation in mammary cells leads to hyperplastic lesions•Intravital imaging reveals mammary cell dynamics induced by β-catenin activation•Constitutive Wnt signaling induces squamous transdifferentiation of mammary cells Combining longitudinal intravital imaging with lineage tracing, Lloyd-Lewis et al. examine the early impact of sustained Wnt signaling on the dynamic behavior of specific luminal or basal mammary cells. They find that, irrespective of the lineage targeted, β-catenin stabilization invariably drives epidermal transdifferentiation of mammary cells, resulting in squamous metaplasia.