The postlactational involution of the mammary gland is a complex process. It involves the collapse of the alveoli and the remodeling of the extracellular matrix, which in turn implies a complex set of interrelations between the epithelial, stromal, and extracellular matrix elements. The telocytes, a new type of CD34‐positive stromal cell that differs from fibroblasts in morphological terms and gene expression, were detected in the stroma of several tissues, including the mammary gland; however, their function remains elusive. The present study employed three‐dimensional reconstructions and immunohistochemical, ultrastructural, and immunofluorescence techniques in histological sections of the mammary gland of the Mongolian gerbil during lactation and postlactational involution to evaluate the presence of telocytes and to investigate a possible function for these cells. By means of immunofluorescence assays for CD34 and c‐kit, major markers of telocytes, and also through morphological and ultrastructural evidences, telocytes were observed to surround the mammary ducts and collapsing alveoli. It was also found that these cells are associated with matrix metalloproteinase 9, which indicates that telocytes can play a role in extracellular matrix digestion, as well as vascular endothelial growth factor, a factor that promotes angiogenesis. Together, these data indicate that telocytes are a distinct cell type in the mammary gland and, for the first time, show that these cells possibly play a role in tissue remodeling and angiogenesis during the postlactional involution of the mammary gland.

中文翻译：

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在沙鼠的乳腺后向内退化过程中，细胞与组织重塑和血管生成有关。

乳腺的胎后消退是一个复杂的过程。它涉及肺泡的塌陷和细胞外基质的重塑，这反过来又暗示了上皮，基质和细胞外基质元素之间复杂的相互关系。在包括乳腺在内的多种组织的基质中检测到了tel细胞，这是一种新型的CD34阳性基质细胞，在形态学和基因表达方面与成纤维细胞不同。但是，它们的功能仍然难以捉摸。本研究采用三维重建和免疫组织化学，超微结构，和免疫荧光技术在蒙古沙鼠的乳腺组织学部分在泌乳和泌乳后对合过程中进行评估，以评估细胞的存在并研究这些细胞的可能功能。通过对CD34和c-kit的免疫荧光测定，tel细胞的主要标志物，并通过形态学和超微结构的证据，观察到了telocytes围绕着乳腺导管和萎陷的肺泡。还发现这些细胞与基质金属蛋白酶9有关，这表明端粒细胞可以在细胞外基质消化以及血管内皮生长因子（一种促进血管生成的因子）中起作用。这些数据加在一起表明，在乳腺中，卵母细胞是一种独特的细胞类型，这是第一次，