Animal welfare and human samples

Mice were maintained in a pathogen-free facility at the University of Manchester. All animal procedures were performed under license in accordance with the UK Home Office Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act (1986) and approved by the Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body of the University of Manchester, UK. In particular, mice with tumors were closely monitored daily for any changes in their overall conditions. Human breast tissues were obtained from the Manchester Cancer Research Centre (MCRC) Biobank, UK, with written informed consent from the patients. The MCRC Biobank holds a generic ethics approval which can confer this approval to users of banked samples via the MCRC Biobank Access Policy. The role of the MCRC biobank is to distribute research samples and therefore, cannot endorse studies performed or the interpretation of results.