Our lab studies ageing, tissue resilience and tumour initiation, with a focus on the mammary gland and breast cancer prevention
Publications
2026
Redondo-Pedraza J, Santamaria PG, Sanchez-Juan A, Jimenez M, Rocha AS, Soria-Alcaide G, Terron-Bautista J, Alvarez R, Lopez V, Grana-Castro O, Caleiras E, Ximenez-Embun P, Bergholtz H, Dalal H, Gray GK, Isasa M, Sorlie T, Khaled WT, Cortes-Ledesma F, Mueller CG, Gonzalez-Suarez E. Rank signaling drives basal cell-lineage infidelity leading to mammary tumorigenesis. Nat Commun. 2026;17(1). doi:10.1038/s41467-026-70020-2. PMID: 41760656.
Shepard A, Lester DK, Troutman S, Hoxha S, Khaled WT, Smith ESJ, Park TJ, Buffenstein R, Du D, Teng M, Dengler-Crish CM, Tsai KY, Flores ER, Ventura A, Kissil JL. An Autochthonous Model of Lung Cancer Identifies Requirements for Cellular Transformation in the Naked Mole Rat. Cancer Discov. 2026;16(1):35-45. doi:10.1158/2159-8290.CD-25-0526. PMID: 40920097.
2025
Simoes BM, Pedley R, McCloskey CW, Roberts M, Reed AD, Twigger AJ, Tharmapalan P, Caruso A, Cabral S, Wilby AJ, Harrison H, Zhou Y, Greenhalgh A, Alghamdi SA, Forestiero M, Lopez-Munoz J, Roche J, Tuieng RJ, Khan MA, Squires S, Astley SM, Harkness EF, Santiago-Gomez A, Spence K, Ritchie J, Pritchard S, Lim Y, Sherratt MJ, Ando S, Howell A, Evans DG, Gilmore AP, Khaled WT, Khokha R, Clarke RB, Howell SJ. Anti-progestin therapy targets hallmarks of breast cancer risk. Nature. 2025;648(8094):736-745. doi:10.1038/s41586-025-09684-7. PMID: 41193807.
Gray GK, Carlson EG, Lev T, Marshall B, Reed AD, Sanchez-Covarrubias AP, Twigger AJ, Puig-Barbe A, Thennavan A, Omotoso A, Murrow LM, Chatterjee D, He S, Pensa S, Aevermann B, Tavares NK, Chen N, Hilton JA, Blake K, Liu Y, Phong K, Gartner ZJ, Lawson DA, Swarbrick A, Dos Santos CO, George SHL, Brugge JS, LaBarge MA, Nakshatri H, Navin N, Kessenbrock K, Khaled WT. Defining breast epithelial cell types in the single-cell era. Dev Cell. 2025;60(17):2218-2236. doi:10.1016/j.devcel.2025.06.032. PMID: 40925326.
Waterhouse M, Lazarus K, Santolla MF, Pensa S, Williams E, Siu AJQ, Mohammed H, Mohorianu I, Maggiolini M, Carroll J, Itzhaki LS, Rahman T, Khaled WT. CHD8 interacts with BCL11A to induce oncogenic transcription in triple negative breast cancer. EMBO J. 2025;44(12):3448-3467. doi:10.1038/s44318-025-00447-8. PMID: 40328966.
Corbishley C, Rainford P, Reed A, Khaled W. Single-Cell Analysis in the Mouse and Human Mammary Gland. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2025;1464:45-73. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-70875-6_4. PMID: 39821020.
Clevers H, Sharma A, Mani SA, Golebiewska A, Behrens A, Tam WL, Deleyrolle LP, Liu H, Ganesh K, Khaled WT, Sikandar S, Lee TK, Miller TE, Tang DG, Singh S, Li VSW, Lathia JD, Ma S. Advancing Cancer Biology: Highlights from the 2025 FASEB SRC on Cellular Plasticity in Cancer. Cancer Heterog Plast. 2025;2(4). doi:10.47248/chp2502040018. PMID: 41221269.
2024
Rafaeva M, Kaczynska B, Redondo-Pedraza J, Bentires-Alj M, Khaled WT, Fre S. 15th Annual ENBDC Meeting: How do Cellular Potency, Microenvironment and Natural Rhythms Influence Mammary Gland Biology and Breast Cancer? J Mammary Gland Biol Neoplasia. 2024;29(1):19. doi:10.1007/s10911-024-09572-2. PMID: 39585439.
Hardwick LJA, Davies BP, Pensa S, Burge-Rogers M, Davies C, Baptista AF, Knott R, S McCrone I, Po E, Strugnell BW, Waine K, Wood P, Khaled WT, Summers HD, Rees P, Wills JW, Hughes K. In the Murine and Bovine Maternal Mammary Gland Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 is Activated in Clusters of Epithelial Cells around the Day of Birth. J Mammary Gland Biol Neoplasia. 2024;29(1):10. doi:10.1007/s10911-024-09561-5. PMID: 38722417.
Reed AD, Pensa S, Steif A, Stenning J, Kunz DJ, Porter LJ, Hua K, He P, Twigger AJ, Siu AJQ, Kania K, Barrow-McGee R, Goulding I, Gomm JJ, Speirs V, Jones JL, Marioni JC, Khaled WT. A single-cell atlas enables mapping of homeostatic cellular shifts in the adult human breast. Nat Genet. 2024;56(4):652-662. doi:10.1038/s41588-024-01688-9. PMID: 38548988.
2022
Buffenstein R, Amoroso V, Andziak B, Avdieiev S, Azpurua J, Barker AJ, Bennett NC, Brieno-Enriquez MA, Bronner GN, Coen C, Delaney MA, Dengler-Crish CM, Edrey YH, Faulkes CG, Frankel D, Friedlander G, Gibney PA, Gorbunova V, Hine C, Holmes MM, Jarvis JUM, Kawamura Y, Kutsukake N, Kenyon C, Khaled WT, Kikusui T, Kissil J, Lagestee S, Larson J, Lauer A, Lavrenchenko LA, Lee A, Levitt JB, Lewin GR, Lewis Hardell KN, Lin TD, Mason MJ, McCloskey D, McMahon M, Miura K, Mogi K, Narayan V, O'Connor TP, Okanoya K, O'Riain MJ, Park TJ, Place NJ, Podshivalova K, Pamenter ME, Pyott SJ, Reznick J, Ruby JG, Salmon AB, Santos-Sacchi J, Sarko DK, Seluanov A, Shepard A, Smith M, Storey KB, Tian X, Vice EN, Viltard M, Watarai A, Wywial E, Yamakawa M, Zemlemerova ED, Zions M, Smith ESJ. The naked truth: a comprehensive clarification and classification of current 'myths' in naked mole-rat biology. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc. 2022;97(1):115-140. doi:10.1111/brv.12791. PMID: 34476892.
Twigger AJ, Engelbrecht LK, Bach K, Schultz-Pernice I, Pensa S, Stenning J, Petricca S, Scheel CH, Khaled WT. Transcriptional changes in the mammary gland during lactation revealed by single cell sequencing of cells from human milk. Nat Commun. 2022;13(1):562. doi:10.1038/s41467-021-27895-0. PMID: 35091553.
2021
Tolve M, Ulusoy A, Patikas N, Islam KUS, Bodea GO, Ozturk E, Broske B, Mentani A, Wagener A, van Loo KMJ, Britsch S, Liu P, Khaled WT, Metzakopian E, Baader SL, Di Monte DA, Blaess S. The transcription factor BCL11A defines distinct subsets of midbrain dopaminergic neurons. Cell Rep. 2021;36(11):109697. doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109697. PMID: 34525371.
Twigger AJ, Khaled WT. Mammary gland development from a single cell 'omics view. Semin Cell Dev Biol. 2021;114:171-185. doi:10.1016/j.semcdb.2021.03.013. PMID: 33810979.
Bach K, Pensa S, Zarocsinceva M, Kania K, Stockis J, Pinaud S, Lazarus KA, Shehata M, Simoes BM, Greenhalgh AR, Howell SJ, Clarke RB, Caldas C, Halim TYF, Marioni JC, Khaled WT. Time-resolved single-cell analysis of Brca1 associated mammary tumourigenesis reveals aberrant differentiation of luminal progenitors. Nat Commun. 2021;12(1):1502. doi:10.1038/s41467-021-21783-3. PMID: 33686070.
Hadi F, Smith ESJ, Khaled WT. Naked Mole-Rats: Resistant to Developing Cancer or Good at Avoiding It? Adv Exp Med Biol. 2021;1319:341-352. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-65943-1_14. PMID: 34424524.
2020
Watson CJ, Khaled WT. Mammary development in the embryo and adult: new insights into the journey of morphogenesis and commitment. Development. 2020;147(22). doi:10.1242/dev.169862. PMID: 33191272.
Hadi F, Kulaberoglu Y, Lazarus KA, Bach K, Ugur R, Beattie P, Smith ESJ, Khaled WT. Transformation of naked mole-rat cells. Nature. 2020;583(7814):E1-E7. doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2410-x. PMID: 32612221.
2019
Vafaizadeh V, Peuhu E, Mikkola ML, Khaled WT, Bentires-Alj M, Koledova Z. The Eleventh ENBDC Workshop: Advances in Technology Help to Unveil Mechanisms of Mammary Gland Development and Cancerogenesis. J Mammary Gland Biol Neoplasia. 2019;24(3):201-206. doi:10.1007/s10911-019-09436-0. PMID: 31494779.
Kulaberoglu Y, Bhushan B, Hadi F, Chakrabarti S, Khaled WT, Rankin KS, Smith ESJ, Frankel D. The material properties of naked mole-rat hyaluronan. Sci Rep. 2019;9(1):6632. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-43194-7. PMID: 31036852.
Waterhouse MP, Ugur R, Khaled WT. Therapeutic and Mechanistic Perspectives of Protein Complexes in Breast Cancer. Front Cell Dev Biol. 2019;7:335. doi:10.3389/fcell.2019.00335. PMID: 31921847.
2018
Lazarus KA, Hadi F, Zambon E, Bach K, Santolla MF, Watson JK, Correia LL, Das M, Ugur R, Pensa S, Becker L, Campos LS, Ladds G, Liu P, Evan GI, McCaughan FM, Le Quesne J, Lee JH, Calado D, Khaled WT. BCL11A interacts with SOX2 to control the expression of epigenetic regulators in lung squamous carcinoma. Nat Commun. 2018;9(1):3327. doi:10.1038/s41467-018-05790-5. PMID: 30127402.
2017
Bach K, Pensa S, Grzelak M, Hadfield J, Adams DJ, Marioni JC, Khaled WT. Differentiation dynamics of mammary epithelial cells revealed by single-cell RNA sequencing. Nat Commun. 2017;8(1):2128. doi:10.1038/s41467-017-02001-5. PMID: 29225342.
2015
Khaled WT, Choon Lee S, Stingl J, Chen X, Raza Ali H, Rueda OM, Hadi F, Wang J, Yu Y, Chin SF, Stratton M, Futreal A, Jenkins NA, Aparicio S, Copeland NG, Watson CJ, Caldas C, Liu P. BCL11A is a triple-negative breast cancer gene with critical functions in stem and progenitor cells. Nat Commun. 2015;6:5987. doi:10.1038/ncomms6987. PMID: 25574598.
2014
Khaled WT, Liu P. Cancer mouse models: past, present and future. Semin Cell Dev Biol. 2014;27:54-60. doi:10.1016/j.semcdb.2014.04.003. PMID: 24718321.
2012
Oliver CH, Khaled WT, Frend H, Nichols J, Watson CJ. The Stat6-regulated KRAB domain zinc finger protein Zfp157 regulates the balance of lineages in mammary glands and compensates for loss of Gata-3. Genes Dev. 2012;26(10):1086-97. doi:10.1101/gad.184051.111. PMID: 22588720.
2011
Watson CJ, Oliver CH, Khaled WT. Cytokine signalling in mammary gland development. J Reprod Immunol. 2011;88(2):124-9. doi:10.1016/j.jri.2010.11.006. PMID: 21255846.
2009
Li W, Ferguson BJ, Khaled WT, Tevendale M, Stingl J, Poli V, Rich T, Salomoni P, Watson CJ. PML depletion disrupts normal mammary gland development and skews the composition of the mammary luminal cell progenitor pool. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009;106(12):4725-30. doi:10.1073/pnas.0807640106. PMID: 19261859.
2008
Watson CJ, Khaled WT. Mammary development in the embryo and adult: a journey of morphogenesis and commitment. Development. 2008;135(6):995-1003. doi:10.1242/dev.005439. PMID: 18296651.
Chausiaux OE, Abel MH, Baxter FO, Khaled WT, Ellis PJ, Charlton HM, Affara NA. Hypogonadal mouse, a model to study the effects of the endogenous lack of gonadotropins on apoptosis. Biol Reprod. 2008;78(1):77-90. doi:10.1095/biolreprod.107.060970. PMID: 17671269.
2007
Khaled WT, Read EK, Nicholson SE, Baxter FO, Brennan AJ, Came PJ, Sprigg N, McKenzie AN, Watson CJ. The IL-4/IL-13/Stat6 signalling pathway promotes luminal mammary epithelial cell development. Development. 2007;134(15):2739-50. doi:10.1242/dev.003194. PMID: 17611223.
2006
Robson EJ, Khaled WT, Abell K, Watson CJ. Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition confers resistance to apoptosis in three murine mammary epithelial cell lines. Differentiation. 2006;74(5):254-64. doi:10.1111/j.1432-0436.2006.00075.x. PMID: 16759291.
(*Co-first author #Corresponding Author)