A team of researchers developed a method through which human breast cells can rebuild the three-dimensional (3D) tissue architecture of the breast.

Initial studies suggest that a normal growth response of the growing mammary gland to physical rigidness in the environment is the same technique exploited in a tumor.

Throughout the reproductive lifespan of a woman, the mammary gland is constantly renewed in order to guarantee milk production even after multiple pregnancies.

This high cellular requires the presence of cells with regenerative capacity, that is, stem cells.

The findings of the study provide insights into the behavior of breast cancer cells and the ways to stop them. Breast cancer cells can adopt properties of stem cells to acquire aggressive traits.

Study leader Christina Scheel from the German Research Centre for Environmental Health, said, "This technological breakthrough provides the basis for many research projects, both those aimed to understand how breast cancer cells acquire aggressive traits, as well as to elucidate how adult stem cells function in normal regeneration".

The researchers during the research used a transparent gel in which cells divide and spread, similar to the developing mammary gland during puberty.

Researchers during the study observed that the behavior of cells with regenerative capacity is determined by the physical properties of their environment.

Study's first author Jelena Linnemann, said in a statement that during the research they were able to demonstrate that increasing rigidity of the gel led to increased spreading of the cells. Similar behavior was already observed in breast cancer cells.

Linnemann said the results of the study suggest that invasive growth in response to physical rigidity represents a normal process during mammary gland development that is exploited during tumor progression.