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This dissertation, "A subpopulation of CD44+/CD25-/CD100+ cells contributes to the development of basal epithelial-like metaplastic breast cancer in adiponectin-deficient MMTV-PyVT mice" by Jie, Chen,, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: Adiponectin is a protein exclusively secreted by adipose tissue and possesses potent insulin-sensitizing, anti-inflammatory, anti-atherogenic and anti-tumorigenic activities. Its expression and production are inversely associated with breast cancer risk both in pre- and postmenopausal women. Previous studies have demonstrated that adiponectin exerts the antitumorigenic activity by inducing apoptosis and arresting cell cycle progression in human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells through GSK3β/β-catenin signaling pathway. Administration of this protein reduces tumor growth of MDA-MB-231 xenografts and decreases lung metastasis in nude mice. Reduced or complete loss of adiponectin expression promotes the development of a distinct basal epithelial-like subtype of mammary tumor in MMTV-PyVT mice. Despite this evidence, the mechanisms underlying the anti-breast cancer activity of adiponectin remain poorly understood. The survival and growth of mammary epithelial carcinoma are critically dependent on the interactions with the neighboring cells of tumor stroma. Breast cancers grow in the anatomical vicinity of adipose tissue. Adipocytes together with the stromal vascular fractions (SVF) of the adipose tissue act to modulate the adhesion, migration and invasion of tumor cells. The present study is designed to elucidate the role of adiponectin as a stromal factor i